Blue
by LordPlagus777
Summary: The Sports Meets is a week away. Haruhi plans to have the Brigade take part in the Relay Race. An old friend returns and strange Closed Spaces appear. Can Kyon win first place and save the world? Or will he not even make it to the battle?  Kyon X Ryoko
1. Monday

**Blue by LordPlagus777**

**Chapter 1**

It was a very sunny Monday, too sunny for Kyon's liking. Spring was coming to an end as the weather was beginning to get warmer and warmer. Kyon had his windows wide open hoping for a cool breeze to perhaps relieve the heat there was none. The blinding sunlight didn't help either. He prayed for class to end as soon as possible before he died from heat stroke. Unfortunately it was still first period and Kyon must remain in his seat as the combination of light, heat and sweat made it feel as if the sun was pouring buckets of hot yellow sunshine down his back collar.

Even after school was over, he would still have to go up to the SOS Brigade clubroom where there would be the same amount of light and heat. The clubroom due to lack of funds had no air conditioner. With the sudden rise in temperature, it was only a matter of time before Haruhi decides to shoot another movie so the Brigade can earn one for free just as they had obtained the heater. At least he'd be able to take cover under the in the shade.

After surviving through the last class, Kyon considered going to up Okabe to demand a change in the seating arrangements, or at least some curtains. Okabe entered the room with an unusual stack of papers in his hand.

"Good afternoon class. Did you learn a lot?" he asked with a dead reply from the class.

"Great!" he said not minding the lack of response.

"What's up with him today?" Haruhi asked from behind Kyon, poking at his back.

Kyon tried not to twitch in pain as Haruhi bothered his sweat sores.

"There are a few things I would like to get through before we dismiss." Okabe said picking up the topmost sheet of paper from his dictionary thick stack. "As you all know we have the Annual School Sports Meet next week." Okabe said.

Kyon could feel Haruhi's excitement gushing forth from behind him.

"There have been a few changes in planning. I hear a generous cash prize will be awarded to the winning teams participating in the events." Okabe said to the class expecting some change in expression.

The class remained impassive. Even if there was a cash prize at stake, there weren't any people in the class that were exceptionally good at sports. There really wasn't any chance for any of them. Although believed Kyon he was in decent shape, there's still everything between him and the school track team.

"A cash prize Kyon!" Haruhi said. "Remember what I told you last week."

Of course… there was Haruhi. Kyon didn't exactly remember what Haruhi had told him before. He reminisced about what had gone on in the clubroom last week to try and retrace when and what she had told him.

"Everyone!" He saw vividly in his mind's eye. "I've decided to sign all of us up for the relay race for the sports meet two weeks from now!"

As usual she wouldn't stop to hear their objections to this action.

Why add a cash prize? She was excited enough about the event without it. Now there's actually something to earn from their efforts there's more at stake if they lose.

"Yes… how could I forget?" Kyon replied. He put his head down on the table, a relay race on top of the weather. And the world would end if the Brigade loses. How can the week get any better for Kyon?

"I know we've been out of shape recently." Okabe finally said acknowledging the dull atmosphere of the class. "So I wanted you all to know that we will be holding elections for our new class president!"

The class took interest at this as many who weren't already listening stopped what they were doing.

"We're not really doing this just because our previous president had to move away." Okabe continued his 'once in a blue moon' announcement that had caught the interest of the class.

"I'm looking to find someone responsible enough to help me out with the sports meet arrangements." Okabe said. "So to kill two birds with one stone, why not elect a class president to aid me?"

"What?" Haruhi asked making sure if she had heard right.

"That's right!" Okabe said proudly. "I'm in charge of the arrangements. I'm not only good at handball you know!"

That was in fact, false. Okabe's middle aged style was sure to mess up big time if he was put in charge of the arrangements. Handball was really the only thing Okabe was professional at, and most of the students weren't even sure if that was true. Kyon was to expect some strange events that would take up the timeslots of the traditional events that were a hundred times better off, he could breathe easy. Okabe wasn't stupid enough to hold a sport meet without a relay race. It won't interfere with Haruhi's grand plans with the Brigade.

"Anyone up for the position?" Okabe asked looking around the class.

The class went silent, not a peep. There wasn't anyone who was fit for the position. The high grades and spotless conduct as the standard requirement were a high enough hurdle as it is. W ho would want to say after class and work with Okabe all day?

"No? Well that's a shame. I was hoping for some assistance too. It can't be helped, but we really do need a new class president though. If anyone feels daring you can come on over the main office to apply. I don't think we'll have enough candidates to hold an election so I'll let you be president if you're good enough. There really isn't anyone to replace Asakura is there? To be honest I've been pretty hung up without her myself." Okabe chuckled jokingly. "Don't worry though. I've got lots of fun things planned! I can do it on my own."

There was a crack of a pen breaking behind Kyon. He dared not to turn around to check the source. How could Kyon forget the heat searing his already cooked back? Haruhi's aura did not carry the same lightweight feeling of anticipation, instead one of dread and obsession. Almost immediately after Okabe dismissed the class, Haruhi stood up and zoomed out of the room. Kyon wasn't able to get a good look at her face, although he expects it wasn't a happy one. She probably knew what to expect if Okabe took the wheel for this event. Don't tell me…

That afternoon, everyone was present in the clubroom, everyone except Haruhi. After she had stormed out of the classroom after dismissal Kyon hasn't seen her since then. The sun was going down making the temperatures in the room slightly bearable in the least.

"I don't know Koizumi." Kyon said. "Something's up with her today. Okabe being in charge of the Sports Meet is bothering her."

"This is to be expected in this situation." Koizumi said "Suzumiya wishes for everything to be perfect for her grand day. If it was anyone else tampering the event it wouldn't be as bad. I expect that Suzumiya has seen enough of your homeroom teacher to predict the apocalypse when he takes up the responsibility to govern an event."

"That may be it." Said Kyon fanning himself with a folder. "We don't really have anything to worry about do we? The relay race is sure to be in the program."

"If Suzumiya expects us to win, she's sure to have us practice…" Koizumi said worryingly.

"Practice? Oh no…" Kyon realized. Of course, why hadn't that come to mind before? She was going to run the entire Brigade ragged! They'd be lucky to even make it to the Sports Meet!

"It won't be that bad Kyon." Koizumi assured. "I know that Suzumiya will take our physical limits into consideration."

Kyon could hear the uneasiness in Koizumi's voice.

"I'm not good at running." Asahina said nervously.

It would be a treat to run ahead of Asahina in the relay race, Kyon imagined Asahina running towards him. It'll be a challenge keeping his eyes on the baton.

"At least it'll be a wonder to watch." Kyon said unintentionally out loud.

"Who knows what might happen if we lose that cash prize." Koizumi said rubbing his chin. "That could mean more work for the organization, specifically speaking, myself."

"We have nothing to worry about! We have Nagato! You can cover light years in no time!" Kyon said proudly.

Nagato simply nodded. Of course they were going to win. They had an alien on their side. She could practically teleport, not to mention the other forms of boosts they can use with her alien buff abilities. Kyon recalled the baseball game the Brigade was forced into where Nagato's magic bat did wonders for the Brigade.

A few moments later the door burst open. Asahina was the only one who was still surprised by this kind of sudden entry. Koizumi looked far from comfortable. Haruhi was not happy.

Grumbling under her breath she stomped over to the Commander's desk and demanded that Asahina fetch her some tea.

"Where were you?" Kyon asked.

"I was at the main office with Okabe." Haruhi said angrily.

"You were there because?"

"I was trying to run for class president but that idiot laughed and put me to work that obviously had nothing to do with the sports meet. He thinks I'm a joke!" Haruhi snatched the cup away from the platter as Asahina was about to hand it to her. She downed it one and continued on with her rant.

"I've spied on him planning the events and let me tell you now that he is failing!" Haruhi slammed the cup onto the table and a trembling Asahina took it away. "I can't even begin to describe the madness that he calls events! Then I tried to correct his mistakes and give him suggestions and he completely blew me off!"

"Thank goodness." Kyon muttered under his breath.

"He was spewing nonsense of how I don't know better than he does! Does he actually think I don't know how to run these kinds of events! It melted my brain! I finally broke down and quit!"

This wasn't a surprise to Kyon. Despite having good grades Haruhi's conduct record didn't count as good in Okabe's eyes.

Haruhi spent a few minutes in deep thought. She didn't take notice of anything else we did or said.

"I'm going." She finally said.

"So long." Kyon waved.

"Get your stuff. You're coming along." Haruhi snapped.

"What! How come?" Kyon said.

"Believe it or not, that retard had enough sense to keep the relay race. Since Asahina can probably run longer, harder, and faster than you can, it only makes sense that I strengthen the Brigade's weakest link. We're going to work out!"

"This is so unfair!" Kyon argued.

Haruhi stepped forward and pinched Kyon's stomach.

"Ouch!" Kyon yelled.

"Look at that, fatso!" Haruhi accused. "You're coming with me! Brigade Coach's orders!"

Kyon looked to Koizumi and Asahina for assistance, but they thought it was best to keep out of their business before they get pinched too. Koizumi shrugged and shook his head, Asahina pretended to make more tea.

Kyon was promptly dragged off by Haruhi. They both changed into their gym uniforms and for the length of the evening had a long, long jog around the neighborhood. Their first- and last- break was in the park, where they stopped by a bench on the side of the path that was now lit by street lamps.

Kyon was about to pass out from exhaustion, he sat down arms spread over the entire bench. Haruhi had worked up quite a sweat herself.

"Phew! Now isn't that refreshing?" Haruhi asked as she sat down next to Kyon who was heaving for oxygen.

Kyon coughed in reply.

"I'll get us some drinks, wait here." Haruhi said, running off to find the nearest vending machine.

Cursing in pain with every heave of his chest he leaned back on the bench hoping to catch his breath before Haruhi decides the break is over. It was as Haruhi said, he was out of shape.

Then as if out of thin air, a wave of blue hair streaked past Kyon. He sat right up and looked around to see who it was. The path was empty.

"What in the world…" Kyon said looking around for the blue blur.

"I'm back!" Haruhi said suddenly appearing with two cans of energy drink in her hand.

Kyon jumped at her arrival.

"What?" She asked.

"It's… nothing…" Kyon said popping open the can as soon as he received it from Haruhi and began chugging down the sweet cold liquid. The two sat down together drinking. Haruhi finished hers first, took Kyon's and finished that too. Apparently the rest was already over, and she stood up and began to jog ahead.

"Enough resting, we've got plenty more to go!"

Kyon spent the rest of the evening and into the late night, trying to catch up to Haruhi. Only when he did get within ten meters of her did she let him finish. He got home due to some miracle he wasn't conscious enough to remember. There were two things that he couldn't get out of his mind though.

The first was Haruhi letting him know that she was coming over in the morning to have a morning workout session, and the other, that streak of blue hair.


	2. Tuesday

Tuesday, Kyon awoke earlier than he usually did. He was surprised that he was able to wake up at all considering the work that he did the previous night. His body was sore, really sore. Maybe it was due to the fact that he had passed out before he had reached his bed and he had been sleeping on the floor all night. He stood up and rubbed the side of his face that had been pressed to the floor for the previous hours of his sleep. Almost slipping on his drool on the way to the bathroom he was stopped as soon as he opened the door to his room.

As a fresh scent of burnt toast filled Kyon's nostrils as he finally remembered why he had instinctively woken up so early.

"Oh… no…" Kyon began to run down the hall heading for the kitchen.

"Ow!" His sore body reminded him of last night's jog. He limped down the stairs as fast as he could to get to the kitchen.

"Mornin' Kyon," Haruhi said, awake as ever, as if she had never went home to sleep last night.

She was cooking toast over an open fire, not noticing that the underside was being charred.

"There's a toaster right over there." Kyon pointed.

"What fun is that? I won't leave my food to machines! If you want quality food, you have to do it yourself, with fire of course. When's the last time you've seen a person actually cook over a fire?"

"In a library book about evolution." He said sarcastically. "How did you get into my house? Furthermore how do you know where I live?"

"I just did, and I just do!" Haruhi said defensively. "It's none of your business!"

Before Kyon could object Haruhi jammed a piece of coal that was supposed to be toast into Kyon's mouth.

"Here eat this and get ready to go out. We're going for some light exercise before school." She spun Kyon around and pushed him up the stairs, promptly returning to the kitchen to raid the refrigerator for anything else that she could burn.

Kyon stalled for as much as he could to shorten the span of time between home and school. The reason being that the time in between would be used for jogging. He needed to anyway, taking an extra five minutes brushing his teeth to get the taste of burnt bread out of his mouth, and gingerly slipping on his clothes as to not feel the pain of his aching muscles.

Technically, his plan worked. What he didn't take into consideration was the time. There was a good hour to go before the first arrivals got to school. Shaving off an extra five minutes did nothing.

"Let's stop here Kyon." Haruhi said stopping. "It'd be bad to get into class all sweaty.

It was too late for Kyon.

…

Kyon had caught his breath as soon as the morning bell rang signaling the start of homeroom class. The students chatted as usual. They had never once in their school lives acknowledged the bell as the start of the class. It had been a while since the actual bell and only a few minutes of homeroom remained. Only when the students had decided that Okabe wasn't going to come in at all did he arrive.

What kept him from being on time? Well, that is a mystery

"Alright class, settle down!" Okabe yelled over the noise. This was the start of class for the majority of students. "I had a few unexpected matters to deal with."

Kyon was right about to fall asleep.

"But no worries!" Okabe said.

"None at all, we were doing quite well without you." Kyon muttered under his breath.

"I was late for a good reason!" Okabe continued.

"What? Like ruining the sports meet?" Haruhi mumbled.

"A good reason? If I had a yen for every good reason I've had for being-"

"I have a special announcement to make!" Okabe interrupted Taniguchi.

Kyon half opened his eyes. This was probably regarding the sports meet. Haruhi was most likely listening in as well.

"We no longer need a candidate for school president!" he said cheerfully.

Now why was this? The entire class began to murmur. What was Okabe saying?

"Did he find a new president?" Haruhi asked Kyon.

"You think? Of course he didn't, there's no one to fill in the position is there? Everyone looks just as surprised as we are. If there is a new president, he's not in the room. The guy probably gave up is all." Kyon replied with reason.

"The reason being, we have a new transfer student from Canada!" Okabe said. "And she will be filling in the position of President!"

The whole class was murmuring. This didn't make any sense. How can a transfer student who isn't even from the same country and doesn't have the experience lead the class? Kyon wondered what was so special about her for Okabe to trust her with such a position. If so, it also means that he trusts her in assisting him with the sports meet arrangements. But Kyon thought hard about the country Canada, it was like that bad itch on his back had returned, but he couldn't seem to remember.

Okabe left the classroom for a moment. Through the opaque glass of the classroom windows, Kyon could see another figure in the hallway besides Okabe. As he returned to the class, the second figure followed him in.

The room was filled with gasps, cheers, and shrieks from the students, Haruhi with the biggest gasp, Taniguchi with the biggest cheer, and Kyon with the biggest shriek of them all. There stood a girl with long blue hair, thick eyebrows, a beaming smile, and a gentle voice. To Kyon everything was there except a silver knife.

Nobody was surprised to hear Haruhi be the first to ask questions.

"Why'd you leave? Why'd you come back?" She asked from the back of the room.

Asakura seemed to be at a loss for words. At the sudden outburst, Okabe stepped in.

"She left because her father had a sudden business opportunity and had to move to Canada. Asakura here missed her old school and friends so her father allowed her to return." Okabe explained. Asakura simply nodded and Haruhi sat down disappointed at the ordinary answer.

"Kyon? What's the matter?" Okabe asked. Asakura was also looking at him with a confused sort of look.

Kyon wasn't feeling well of course. He still remembered vividly how Asakura had tried to kill him before she was stopped by Nagato.

"Nagato…" Kyon whispered.

"What was that?" Okabe asked.

The bell rang, homeroom had ended and Kyon left the classroom as fast as he could. He ran down the hallway not about to return to the classroom until he had talked to Nagato. He ran out of breath, right in front of Nagato's classroom. She was standing right in the doorway as if expecting Kyon to drop by.

"Nagato! Asakura! She's back! And-"

Nagato gave a significant nod. Kyon stopped.

"She is not a threat. Please refrain from any abnormal behavior for today. I will explain later."

Without saying any more in the presence of classmates, Nagato walked back into the class, sat down at her seat, and picked up the book on top of her desk. She buried her face in the book. Kyon started back to his classroom anxiously. If Nagato told him Asakura wasn't a threat, he'd better take her word for it.

Kyon avoided Asakura for the remainder of the classes. He was relieved that she didn't try and approach him like she usually did when she was around. Her popularity hadn't diminished since her leave, and many of her admirers gathered around her. She did seem a little uncomfortable being the center of attention. Many of the teachers were extremely welcome to her return. They asked her one or two more questions than the average student. Haruhi was left sulking in the back during class while Asakura gave consecutive perfect answers to every question, much to the delight of the teachers, and of course, the students who were victim to those particularly difficult questions. Taniguchi slept well indeed. Haruhi and Kyon were the only people in the class who weren't interested in Asakura.

A couple of times did Kyon's heart stop when he met eyes with her. She smiled at Kyon, while he looked hurriedly away pretending it didn't happen.

It was all going according to Kyon's liking until the end of class.

"Let's go!"

Haruhi picked up her bag, slung it over her shoulder and waltzed out of the classroom. All was well with her now Asakura was in charge of the Sports Meet. Kyon got up to follow.

"Ouch." said a soft voice.

Kyon froze, he had just bumped into Asakura. The look on his face was equivalent to someone who had just broken the world's most expensive vase in a museum, or someone who had broken a dragon's egg right in front of the mother.

"I'm sorry!" Kyon yelled in reflex taking a defensive stance.

Asakura frowned and opened her mouth to speak, but Kyon couldn't help it. He was already out of the room. His heart was about to burst out of his chest. As well as that, he was embarrassed for making such a fuss over such a small accident. He decided to act more normal next time and got the thought out of his head. He speed walked over to the club room, plopped down on a seat and calmed down after a hot cup of Asahina's tea.

He sat there patiently passing time, occasionally looking over at Nagato to find out when this 'later' was going to be. He suspected it was going to be after everyone leaves the clubroom.

The time had finally come. Koizumi left for his part time job, Asahina too had left.

"See you later." Haruhi waved to Kyon on her way out.

"Wait… what?" Kyon said right after she left.

There was a soft sound of a book being shut. Kyon turned to Nagato who nodded.

"What? Now?"

"Close the door," she said, and Kyon followed her orders.

"Now tell me Nagato. How did Asakura come back?"

"The cause for Asakura Ryoko's return is Suzumiya Haruhi's powers." Nagato simply said.

Well that was no surprise to Kyon.

"Why? Why would Haruhi want Asakura back?

"I did not sense Suzumiya Haruhi to have a direct urgency for Asakura Ryoko. However her personal motives have triggered Asakura Ryoko's return.

Kyon wondered what her personal motives were before he realized.

"It might be the sports meet." Kyon said.

Nagato nodded.

"She wanted someone other than Okabe to plan the event." Kyon continued. "But it could've been anyone else fit for the job. Why didn't Haruhi just create the ideal class president, or turn Okabe into a better event planner? Isn't this a little too specific? Even for Haruhi's powers?"

"That I am not sure of." Nagato replied.

"What if she tries to kill me again? Aren't you going to do anything before that happens?" Kyon asked.

"She has no link to the Sentient Data Entity. Therefore she cannot be classified as a threat. She is but an average human. My purpose is to observe Suzumiya Haruhi. I cannot interfere unless conditions are met." Nagato said.

"And what conditions are those?"

"If Suzumiya Haruhi is in danger of being self aware of her powers in any way or if the people close to her are in danger."

Kyon did feel better after taking to Nagato. She got her things together and prepared to leave.

"What if she becomes a threat? Will you stop her?" Kyon asked.

"I will not let her." Nagato said.

Their conversation ended there. Asakura was a normal human, wished back by Haruhi. If she was a human she probably knows nothing about aliens or data entities. She was the an average girl. Besides from being a little bit cautious, Kyon accepted the fact that Asakura wouldn't try to kill him again. Even if she tried, Kyon still has Nagato. So, nothing to worry about.

Kyon got home, looking forward to watching some T.V. before he went to bed.

The doorbell rang.

"Kyon-kun! Get the door!" his little sister called.

After sighing, Kyon lifted himself from the couch and proceeded to answer the door. The doorbell was ringing uncontrollably at this point. Just who was button mashing the bell outside?

As soon as Kyon opened the door, an energy drink was thrust into his hands.

"C'mon Kyon! You ready for another jog?" Haruhi asked while jogging in place wearing her gym uniform.

"No!" Kyon said.

"But you're fat!"

"I'm not fat! Moderately out of shape!"

Before Kyon could close the door, disable the bell and apply the five different locks installed onto his front door, Haruhi had grabbed him by the shirt and pulled him outside.

Day two ends with another night of sweat and exercise. Asakura was forgotten under a fresh new layer of regret and worries.


	3. Wednesday

On Wednesday, Kyon was feeling drained just like the previous day. He woke up, half-expecting Haruhi to be downstairs cooking his breakfast again. After he got dressed, he limped down to the kitchen to check.

"Good Morning." Haruhi said, using the toaster this time.

"Oh, so you're cooking food this time." Kyon said, using the kitchen counter to support himself.

"Stop joking." Haruhi said, staring at the toaster ready to grab the pieces of toast as soon as they popped out. "Anyway, we aren't running today."

"Thank goodness." Kyon said in relief.

"I actually finished my jog before I came here." Haruhi said.

"A little early isn't it?" Kyon asked.

"Look at the time." Haruhi said irritably.

It was still very early for Kyon, yet too late for one of Haruhi's jogs. This was strange though.

"Why did you give me a day off today of all days?" Kyon asked.

"I thought about it and decided to give your lazy ass a rest."

"Really? How nice of you." Kyon replied.

"I meant you're resting for the morning jog. I have other plans. From today on, it's not going to be just us training for the Sports Meet. I'm planning to have the whole Brigade start getting into shape for the relay!" Haruhi said, grinning with pride.

She took the toast out of the toaster and began smudging butter on the surface with a spoon. "Now, let's get going."

Kyon and Haruhi arrived at the school very early. Once they were in front of the gates, Haruhi decided that she no longer needed to guide Kyon any further. She strode ahead leaving a very sore Kyon to follow slowly from behind.

It took a minute or two for Kyon to get to the shoe lockers. As he bent down to change his shoes, he noticed a small note that had fallen out of his locker. The note read.

_Meet me in the classroom after school when everyone is gone._

This was all too familiar for Kyon. He tucked it away in his pocket in case anyone else took interest, but there was no one around. Not surprising, considering how early it was.

This had happened before, the culprit? It had been Asakura, when she'd led him into the classroom in an attempt to try and kill him. And Kyon was sure it was her again. Even if she was acting completely different than before, she still had her own style of doing things, all the more suspicious for Kyon. Then again, nothing was absolute until he actually went to meet up with the sender. Deciding to worry about it when the time came, he went up to the classroom.

Haruhi wasn't in the classroom when Kyon arrived. He did think it was weird for her to go ahead and leave him behind. She had to be up to something, even at this time in the morning. Worse for Kyon, the only person in the classroom was Asakura, sorting out a few papers.

Kyon decided to stay calm and treat her as an average person. He sat down without saying hello and took out a text book and pretended to study. In a few minutes Asakura got out of her chair with her stack of papers. Kyon peeked to see if she'd left the room, but she was also looking back as well. She gave a small awkward wave, and left the classroom.

Asakura was usually friendlier than this. Her confident personality would never allow her to get away with that sort of half-hearted greeting. Although strange, Kyon was glad that there was some distance between the two. He needed more time to get used to her.

Kyon closed his text book and finally relaxed. The class had started to fill up now. Just when Taniguchi arrived seconds after the late bell, Okabe followed him in, smacking him on the behind as he ran into the classroom to take his seat. Just moments later, Haruhi dashed in and sat down with a big smirk on her face. Okabe took no notice of her disorderly entrance.

"What gives?" Taniguchi yelled.

Where Haruhi had been all morning was a mystery to Kyon, but he decided to wait until first period ended to find out about it.

"What're you so happy about?" He asked, as he turned around to look at her.

"So you would like to know? Haruhi said, with that disturbing smile. Something was up.

"Tell me." Kyon said, wondering whether it was more painful not to know or to spend the rest of the day with the thought in mind.

"I was out looking for the school track team. I managed to get their permission to use the field after school for the rest of the week! Since the Sports Meet is on Monday, the SOS Brigade will have plenty of time to get into shape!"

With those last words clattering around in Kyon's head, the morning classes just seemed to fly by. At least he didn't have to suffer alone. But the sense of dread would not fade. Now that they had the actual track to practice on, Kyon could already hear Haruhi's voice in his ear, yelling at him to run ten more laps…

By lunchtime, Kyon's stomach felt like it was starting to digest itself. Aside from the looming running practice ahead, Kyon was not satisfied with just toast to go on for the entirety of the morning. It'd been quite a while since he'd properly eaten.

He was tired, hungry, sleepy, and it was no surprise that in a few minutes of walking, he had left the school building and was wandering in a part of the school grounds that he had never been to before. His destination was the cafeteria, but his inner conflict between udon and ramen got in the way of his sense of navigation. In short, he'd managed to get lost.

He found himself in a grassy area, unkempt and wild, a few trees here and there. He was near the fence that surrounded the school perimeter. It was also quiet and isolated, with a few butterflies floating about, a kind of rare relaxing hidden secret spot. It was deserted except for-

"Asakura?" Kyon said, spotting her amidst a tall patch of grass and a few sprouts of bamboo.

She jumped at the sound of her name. Nothing unusual there, anyone would have been surprised to run into someone in a deserted place like this. Kyon himself would have jumped first if Asakura had called out to him.

Either way, Kyon decided it was time to man up and continue as if nothing was wrong. Even if Asakura came at him with a knife, there was Nagato. If not even that, well, after Haruhi's training he was pretty confident in his running speed.

"What are you doing all the way out here?" Kyon asked.

"I-I'm sorry, but I'm a little lost. Do you know the way back?" She asked politely.

There it was again, the lack of, no, the absence of confidence in her voice. This wasn't her old outgoing self. Was she acting vulnerable on purpose? Why was she lost? Wouldn't the class president be familiar with the school grounds?

"If we follow the building we might get to somewhere familiar." Kyon said, trying to sound normal.

Asakura smiled and came to stand behind him. He took it as a signal to start walking, still feeling a prickle of fear with Asakura following from behind.

It was a strange feeling for Kyon to walk with Asakura. At first he thought this might be a trap, but his feelings of suspicion soon dissolved away. She didn't feel hostile at all; instead she actually seemed genuinely like a nice person.

He probably wouldn't have realised any of this had his sense of navigation not failed him again and the two not spent the next half hour somehow going in circles.

"I think I know where we are now." Asakura finally said, after the bell rang, telling them that lunch had ended. "The bell came from that way. If we keep going we might find our way back."

"Yeah, you're right," said Kyon, looking where she was pointing.

Maybe it was because Asakura could hear Kyon's stomach making sounds similar to that of an angry dog that she took out a small package of bread out of her bag and gave it to Kyon.

"I'm sorry you had to spend your lunch time guiding me back. It's not much, but I hope this gets you through the rest of the day." Asakura said.

"No, no. I would have been walking around by myself anyway. I was lost too." Kyon replied. "I think I should be the one saying sorry. It's because of me we ended up back where we started twice."

"Let's get back to class." Asakura said, and she ran off ahead.

Kyon stood there speechless as he realised what exactly had happened.

"I'm alive!" he said to himself.

_Growl_

Although not for long if he didn't eat something...

Kyon guzzled down the bread, finding it to be oddly fulfilling.

As Asakura had said, it was enough to help him through the rest of class. Only after a while did he remember that it wasn't enough to be able to get through the rest of the day, he had to go through Haruhi's training as well. That line of thought caused his stomach to growl once more and he realized that he was going to need more than that bit of bread.

After the post lunch periods, classes were over and the students were to either to go home, go to their respective club activities, or go to the SOS Brigade clubroom. Kyon qualified for the third. Before dashing out of the classroom to make sure the field was ready for SOS Brigade use, Haruhi told Kyon,

"Make sure the other members get changed into their gym outfits!"

Which is exactly what he did.

"If it's anything other than hunting for aliens or monsters, I'll be glad to participate." Koizumi smiled as the two waited their turn outside the clubroom while the girls were changing.

"I doubt you'll be able to run as much as Haruhi will want you to." Kyon said.

"Quite the quandary…" Koizumi replied. "Suzumiya seems to be in a good mood lately. Regardless we've had a strange closed space just the other day."

"Really? A closed space?"

"It is quite the interesting phenomenon. It was over before I had begun making my way there. I hear from my colleagues that it had vanished almost as soon as it appeared." Koizumi said.

"Are you guys looking into it?" Kyon asked.

"We don't expect it to be anything special. Things like this happen once in a while." Koizumi said.

"If you say so."

The Brigade members packed their uniforms into their bags and locked the clubroom door as they left. Haruhi was planning to dismiss them right away after the practice, and it'd be pointless to go back to the clubroom after practice to change. It would make more sense to go straight home and shower rather than spoil their uniforms changing after getting sweaty.

Haruhi had gotten changed herself somewhere else. Soon after the warm ups, the real thing began.

For the next two hours the SOS Brigade ran like they had never ran before. Kyon wouldn't have made it if he hadn't been jogging with Haruhi for the past two days. He was somewhat glad that he had at least been prepared.

Unsurprisingly, Asahina couldn't make it all the way through. She had to retire halfway through and Kyon managed to talk Haruhi into letting her rest. On the other side of the scale, Nagato hadn't even broken a sweat.

Koizumi had also bitten off more than he could chew. At the end Kyon expected him to be begging to search for monsters and aliens again. But Kyon himself was still completely wiped out. Haruhi also worked up quite a sweat- as she continually lapped them.

"Feel the burn guys! With the prize money, we might even be able to install an air conditioner in the clubroom!" Haruhi said, passing them by on the track for what felt like the umpteenth time.

At least that kept the Brigade morale just above rock bottom.

Somehow, Koizumi and Kyon managed to survive Haruhi's training. And with that, Haruhi dismissed them for the day before running off, as though she wasn't even remotely tired. Koizumi and Asahina both said their exhausted goodbyes before leaving as well. Nagato had just started to walk off when Kyon remembered the note in his shoe locker.

"Nagato." Kyon said, causing her to turn around. "This morning, I found a note in my shoe locker asking me to come to the classroom after school when everyone is gone."

Nagato nodded.

"You see, this is exactly how Asakura lured me into the classroom to try and kill me."

"I understand." Nagato said.

"I'm not really sure if Asakura was the one who sent me this, but if I had to guess I'd say it was her. I'm thinking about going up to check it out. Can you come with me?"

Nagato nodded again.

The sun was setting above them as they entered the school. Everything was tinted orange as it was last time Kyon was called to the classroom. Kyon and Nagato walked along the deserted hallways and corridors, the only sound their shoes upon the floor. Right when they were about outside Kyon's classroom, Nagato stopped walking.

"It's in here, Nagato." Kyon said.

"I will wait outside." Nagato replied.

"Really? You won't follow?" Kyon asked, not hiding his nervousness.

"You do not know if the sender is Asakura Ryoko. There is a possibility that the sender will not be present in the classroom."

"What if…"

"If Asakura Ryoko's intentions are to attack you, she would not do it in my presence." Nagato explained, yet that still didn't alleviate Kyon's fears.

"There is a chance she might then?" Kyon asked.

"It is extremely unlikely she will take offensive action."

"Alright then… can you come if I call you?"

"I will," said Nagato.

Kyon went ahead to the back door, keeping as little distance between him and Nagato as he could. As the door slid open, Kyon saw the sender of the note standing by the window.

"Did I keep you waiting?" Kyon asked, his theories confirmed as he saw that it was indeed Asakura Ryoko.

"I just got here myself." Asakura smiled. "I had to attend to my class president duties first. I was afraid you had already left."

"What did you need me for?" Kyon asked, getting ready to make a run for it if she started talking about politics or whatever.

"I needed someone to talk to. I don't think there's anyone else who'd listen to me." Asakura said looking nervous herself.

"You have a lot more friends that I do, people who admire you. All who're probably closer to you than I am." Kyon said.

"It's been really uncomfortable since I started coming to school." Asakura said. "They all think I'm some sort of super student, but you're different, I can feel it. I can be open with you."

"Open? Fine then… what is it?"

"Promise you won't think I'm crazy?

"You better get in line." Kyon said, almost ready to hear some confession about her being some supernatural being. He was also looking forward to seeing if she topped the list or not. Maybe she'd turn out to be the slider.

"It's alright to tell me, it can't be that bad." Kyon egged her on as she seemed to be debating with herself whether to continue.

After a long pause, Asakura finally spoke.

"I don't have any memories of before I came to the school." Asakura said.

Kyon couldn't help but feel a sense of anti-climax, but this still had enough interest for him. He motioned for her to continue.

"The furthest back I can remember is waking up in an apartment that was supposed to be mine. I knew that I was supposed to be a transfer student from Canada. I also knew I was supposed to go to school that day. Other than that I didn't know anything. People I've just met were referencing my past and acting all friendly. All I could do was act like I knew what they were talking about and be friendly… it's been very pressuring and uncomfortable for me… "

Kyon took a few seconds to process this.

"You don't think I'm crazy, do you?" Asakura asked.

"No, but I still don't understand why you brought this to me of all people. I was avoiding you and all..."

"It's awkward to even have a simple conversation with someone who knows you but you know nothing about. Let alone tell them something like this. It feels a lot easier to tell someone I never knew, like you, to talk to. I won't have to fake knowing the person." Asakura said.

"But I did know you. I probably knew the most about you." Kyon said.

"You did?" Asakura suddenly asked.

Kyon quickly regretted admitting that. "In a way, yeah," he reluctantly continued.

"Then can I ask you for something else?" Asakura asked.

"What is it?"

"There are times, when I feel that my memories are close. When I'm on the brink of remembering, but I just lose it. I can feel that they're out there. There are places in this city that I feel connected to, so, I was wondering if you could help me look for them. I don't know my way around the city so I need someone to guide me. It'd be a lot faster than asking around right? Now that I'm familiar with you in a sense I'd prefer if you helped." Asakura said, back in a positive tone after seeing that her secret was well received.

"Sure, I'll try if I'm not busy." Kyon replied, still feeling uncertain.

It would be too cruel to abandon a person who asks for help after spilling all their secrets. With no memories of anyone Kyon was the only person she had an honest relationship with. There really was no other answer to give to Asakura.

"Thank you Kyon. I'm glad there was someone like you around." Asakura said with all sincerity.

Kyon couldn't help blushing.

"Would you like to come over for dinner?" Asakura asked with a straight face.

Kyon froze. "What?" He said, almost thinking he'd misheard. "J-just us?"

"Is that a problem?" Asakura asked, disheartened.

"No! Not at all! Um… I know someone who might want to come along." Kyon said, in a last minute add.

"Really? Who?" Asakura asked eagerly.

This was a nice turn of events. Kyon was relieved that he'd thought to bring along Nagato. Being alone with Asakura in her apartment was sure to give Kyon a whole new sense of anxiousness that had nothing to do with the fear of getting killed.

"Nagato!" Kyon said loudly.

The door opened, revealing Nagato. She glanced over at Asakura, who looked back curiously at her.

"Asakura, this is Nagato Yuki. She's a friend of mine." Kyon said.

"Hello Nagato." Asakura waved pleasantly. "Would you like to come over for dinner?"

Nagato gave a single nod.

The three headed out of the classroom and started towards Asakura's apartment, wherever it was. The sun had nearly set and it was getting dark.

"Why suddenly ask us to dinner?" Kyon asked breaking the silence as the three were walking.

"It's my fault that you didn't get to have a proper lunch today Kyon. I can't thank you properly so the least I can do is make up for it." Asakura said.

As they continued walking, Kyon realised that this was the way to Nagato's apartment building. Was Asakura living where she used to live?

Sure enough, that turned out to be correct. Asakura stopped right at the front entrance of Nagato's apartment, punched in the code and the trio went inside.

After a short elevator trip, they were finally in front of Asakura's apartment door.

"It's not much, but make yourselves at home." Asakura said, opening the door and leading them inside.

She turned on the lights revealing the living room.

The apartment was built almost exactly like Nagato's, yet looked a lot more "lived in" and well, normal. There was much more colour to the room, and actually items of furniture and decorations. Nagato and Kyon sat on the sofa while Asakura went to the kitchen to make dinner.

They waited in silence, neither bothering to switch on the TV. Kyon simply wondered what kind of dish Asakura would prepare and how good it might be. He wasn't in the mood to do anything else. Strangely Nagato wasn't reading a book but instead staring at the bunny doll she had placed on her lap. A while later a delicious aroma wafted across the room.

Asakura came out of the kitchen wearing a cheery smile and an apron. "It's ready."

The main dish for the night was udon. Kyon awkwardly sat down at the table with Asakura and Nagato. As stiff as he was at the start of the meal, he became more and more relaxed as he kept eating. Perhaps that was helped by Asakura's udon being the best Kyon had ever had. Certainly better than what the school served. He might even prefer it to his mother's home cooking. It was also a rare sight to see Nagato eating as well. There might not be much to her expression, but Kyon had a feeling that she was thoroughly enjoying it.

The conversation also became lively. Nagato didn't contribute much, but with her at the table, everything seemed to flow smoothly whether she spoke or not. Asakura and Kyon were speaking to each other as if they were close friends. They talked about school, class, club activities, and eventually it all lead to…

"And Haruhi makes us do all kinds of stupid things like searching the town for any mysteries, like you'd expect to see a ghost walking around in broad day light." Kyon ranted on as he drank the rest of his soup from his bowl.

Asakura was utterly fascinated. Kyon would have never expected her to be such a great listener.

"This SOS Brigade sounds like a really fun club. I'd like to come searching too. Can I come along next time? When's the next meeting?" Asakura asked.

Kyon wasn't expecting Asakura to respond like this. Any average old person would give sympathy to someone dragged into Haruhi's events. To think this would come from Asakura. What would everyone think if the perfect, role model, top of the class, president Asakura started hanging out with the SOS Brigade?

"You probably wouldn't want to get involved. What would everyone think of you? You'd just end up ruining your reputation by running around with Haruhi." Kyon said.

Asakura looked disappointed. "I guess so…"

Nagato finally stood up and began clearing up the bowls for Asakura. Kyon himself was full and satisfied.

"Come again next time alright?" Asakura said, as Kyon was getting his shoes on. Nagato had already gone outside.

"I will." Kyon said. "It'll be worth it."

"I might not have memories, but I'm still a great cook." Asakura smiled handing Kyon a bag with a plastic container filled with leftover udon.

"Sorry I couldn't help clean up." Kyon said

"It's alright. I can handle a few dishes."

"See you tomorrow at school."

"Yeah, see ya."

Kyon closed the front door, turning his head to see Nagato, who had been waiting for him.

"What is it?" Kyon asked.

"Follow." Nagato said, starting down the hallway to the elevator.

They went up a few floors, stopping at the eighth floor where Nagato's apartment was. She let Kyon in and they both sat at the table inside Nagato's empty living room.

"Why'd you call me here?" Kyon asked.

"Although Asakura Ryoko currently appears stable, there is a possibility that she might revert to her radical self." Nagato said.

"Revert? How?"

"It is highly unlikely, but I cannot let my errors endanger you again." Nagato said. She handed Kyon a small silver device shaped like a toy gun.

"What is this?" Kyon asked.

"It is a needle gun fused with a dissolution factor. Different from the one used to terminate Asakura Ryoko's link to the Data Sentient Entity. This version will break her down into basic fragments of data." Nagato explained.

"This thing can stop Asakura if she tries to attack me?"

"Yes."

"What's the point? Asakura's just going to put up a barrier or some other attack to keep me from hitting." Kyon said.

"This gun cannot be blocked by data manipulation. It can only be fired twice, but its immunity to barriers will enhance your chance to hit."

"What if I miss? What if she blocks it regardless?" Kyon asked.

"Buy time until I arrive." Nagato said.

"Alright then." Kyon said, getting up to leave. "Do you want the leftover udon? I can't get caught with it at home. My parents will ask where it came from. Plus, you probably enjoyed it more than I did."

Nagato nodded and accepted the bag from Kyon.

"See you tomorrow, Nagato." Kyon said. He left her sitting at the table and walked outside.

Without the evening jog, Kyon decided to go to sleep early for tomorrow would doubtless be another long day of Haruhi's training. With a lot more on his mind than the Sports Meet, he laid on his bed staring at the needle gun before he finally fell asleep.


	4. Thursday

**Chapter 4**

On Thursday, Kyon woke up to an uneventful morning. He went to school, attended his classes, and eventually the school day was over. Right after dismissal Kyon sighed and began to make his way to the club room, bracing himself for another day of running laps.

As soon as Haruhi entered the clubroom they were ordered to change as fast as possible to make full use of the time they were allowed on the track. In a matter of minutes everyone was out on the field. Asahina and Koizumi still looked tired and worn from yesterday's exercise. But having a head start on training, Kyon realized that the jogging sessions he had with Haruhi were finally paying off. He wasn't tired at all. Unlike Koizumi, who looked to be on a completely different level of fatigue than Asahina.

"What's wrong, Koizumi?" Kyon asked. "Not feeling too well?"

"Do not worry about me, I will manage." Koizumi replied.

Despite his words, Koizumi certainly didn't look fit to run laps in the state he was in.

"What happened? I expected you to hold out longer than this." Kyon said.

"If you must know, there was a Closed Space last night." Koizumi said. "I'm afraid to say it cut into my sleep somewhat."

"If you want I can ask Haruhi to let you sit this one out." Kyon offered.

"I would be very grateful for that." Koizumi replied.

Kyon found himself wondering as he walked away; why had Koizumi had to deal with a Closed Space last night? There wasn't anything wrong with Haruhi that Kyon knew of that would cause one. What was he missing here?

Haruhi was doing her warm up exercises with Asahina while Nagato watched. Goodness, the amazing stretches Haruhi was forcing Asahina to do… Kyon briefly considered watching for a little more before he shook his head and continued.

"What do you want?" Haruhi asked, busy with her own stretching.

"Koizumi doesn't look too well today. I think you should give him a day off." Kyon said, pointing to Koizumi.

Haruhi stopped her warm up and closely examined Koizumi from afar. He caught Haruhi's eyes and weakly waved.

"Alright… a day off wouldn't hurt." Haruhi said, after deep thought.

Kyon hadn't expected that. He'd imagined that Haruhi would just make Koizumi run laps anyway. Well, if there was a chance that she'd show mercy…

"You know, I'm not feeling so well myself." Kyon quickly added.

"And you'll be feeling worse if you don't start on your laps!" Haruhi snapped, seeing through him instantly. "You too Mikuru!"

If running laps wasn't bad enough, Kyon had to pass by Koizumi every often as he rested on the bench. Maybe if he actually broke something Haruhi would allow him to join Koizumi…but then again he didn't want to take any chances, in case she told him to continue on one leg.

"Kyon!" Asakura called, as she walked up to the track.

"Ah, hey there…" Kyon stopped next to her, taking a moment to catch his breath.

"Practicing for the sports meet?" Asakura asked.

"Unfortunately…"

"Are those the other Brigade members over there?" She pointed to the other side of the field.

They were far away but Kyon could still hear Haruhi's commands. On the bright side, she seemed too busy to notice him talking with Asakura. Good, he'd forgotten how many laps she said she would add if there was any slacking.

"Yeah, that's them." Kyon sighed. "Are you heading home?"

"No, I have a few things to take care of before then. I'll see you later." Asakura said before walking back to the building. Kyon watched her go, unaware that Haruhi had finally spotted him.

"Kyon!" She shouted. "Get back to your laps before I come over there and-"

At the end of Haruhi's even more intensive than usual training session, Kyon was on all fours.

"Today's training was a big success!' Haruhi said proudly. "All of you aren't as bad as I thought you would be! Nagato, you were amazing! We'll have a good chance of coming in first! Koizumi, get well soon, cause I'm not letting you sit the next session out! Everyone, go home and rest up! You are dismissed!"

With that said Haruhi got her stuff together and dashed away. Nagato left the field as swiftly as Haruhi did. Asahina gave Koizumi and Kyon a farewell before heading off, noticeably slower than Haruhi and Nagato.

"Thank you for allowing me to rest." Koizumi said, having waited for the others to go.

"Don't thank me, thank Haruhi…" Kyon grumbled.

"It will be quite the quandary if we should lose the relay race." Koizumi smiled. "It would mean a lot of work for me, if the world doesn't end of course."

"Don't worry too hard." said Kyon. "We have Nagato running, don't you forget that."

"Yes, of course. How can I?"

Kyon was about to leave when he suddenly recalled what Koizumi had told him earlier.

"Tell me about that Closed Space you had last night. Was it serious?" Kyon asked.

"At first we expected it to disappear on its own as we have seen over the past few days. But this one lingered." Koizumi explained.

"What happened? Did you fight any Shinjins?"

"None at all, it went away on it's own before I had evev reached the site. The problem was that it was very late and I simply did not get enough sleep." Koizumi sighed.

Kyon opened his mouth to respond as a phone rang.

"Excuse me for just a moment." Koizumi said.

Kyon sat down on the bench as Koizumi spent about a minute on the phone, speaking in a hushed tone to presumably another esper.

"Just our luck Kyon." Koizumi said, after he hung up. "There appears to be another Closed Space not so far from here."

"Our luck?" Kyon asked.

"Yes, I would like you to accompany me. Would you like to come?"

Kyon considered. It would be kind of cool to be able to see Koizumi's powers in action again. It wasn't like he had much else to do at the moment.

"Sure, I guess, but I might get in the way." Kyon answered.

"There will be nothing to interfere. I expect this will be another come and go Closed Space. Follow me." Koizumi said, leading the way.

With that in mind, Kyon was soon regretting following Koizumi along. There probably wasn't going to be any action from the way Koizumi was describing it. He would have to settle with getting to be inside another closed space. Boring, but fascinating in its own way. After walking a few blocks, Koizumi led him up a fire escape to the rooftop of a four storey building.

"Hold my hand Kyon." He said.

Slightly disturbed, Kyon took a hold of Koizumi's hand.

"Close your eyes." Koizumi said.

Doing as he was told, but not for long, Kyon found himself in a gray setting as he did the last time he was in a closed space. There was complete silence. Not the slightest breeze or sounds of everyday life in the suburbs below them. No birds in the sky, no cars on the street or people on the walk.

"So, there's going to be no action?" Kyon asked.

"I cannot be sure, but I would think not." Koizumi replied. "It will likely be over in a few minutes."

Nearly ten minutes passed by, and indeed as Koizumi had said, nothing was happening. Kyon spent most the time looking into the grey sky. It gave him a different feeling than the blue he was so used to seeing. The longer he stared, the stronger the sense of claustrophobia. He might've actually dozed off standing there when he was broken out of it by an explosion from afar, roughly five or six blocks away.

A plume of black smoke was rising from the source.

"Stay here Kyon." Koizumi said.

Koizumi was suddenly illuminated by a burst of red light. He began to levitate, then flew away towards the source of the explosion. There were many other red glows that were converging on the source, some flying overhead. Clearly Koizumi had not been the only esper to arrive in the Closed Space.

In a few minutes, Koizumi was one of the first to return out of the many red dots. He landed gently on top of the roof top. He was not smiling.

"What happened?" Kyon asked.

"One of my colleagues has been injured in that blast. Strange, there shouldn't be anything combustible in this space.

Nothing to combust? Well, that made sense. If Shinjins began to run wild in the space, there were sure to be a few explosions. But from what Kyon saw, everything simply disintegrated into nothing. It was hard to imagine something warm like a fire in a cold and empty space like this one.

"How badly was your friend injured?" Kyon asked.

"Luckily, it looks like all he needs is a few days in the hospital, nothing serious." Koizumi replied.

"What caused the blast?"

"I'm not sure. It has to be something from the outside. Our powers don't work that way." Koizumi reasoned.

Just then the grayness began to fade. Kyon could see the last few rays of sunlight before the sun completely set. One of the things that Kyon was looking forward to see was the destruction of the closed space. It was supposed to shatter in a spectacle as Koizumi put it. Instead it simply faded away.

"As I expected, the space has vanished." Koizumi said. "It's getting pretty late Kyon. Would you like a ride home?"

Kyon was just about to reply yes when he saw someone with long blue hair walking down the sidewalk below.

"My house isn't that far, I should be fine," said Kyon. "Go home and get a good rest, as Haruhi says."

"You too as well. Hopefully there won't be another Closed Space tonight. Like Miss Suzumiya, the Organization forbids skiving of one's duties. I will see you tomorrow." Koizumi said.

The two headed down from the rooftop. Koizumi crossed the street to hop into a black taxi that happened to pass by, while Kyon looked for Asakura, if it had indeed been her.

"She can't have gone too far." Kyon said to himself as he looked up and down the road.

But it seemed he had lost her. Just when he was thinking about giving up and going back home, someone grabbed him by the shoulders from behind.

"Wah!" Kyon jumped, surprised at the sudden appearance.

"I saw you up on the roof with your friend!" Asakura laughed as she released him. "So I decided to follow you."

So Asakura ended up finding him instead. Kyon turned around so that he would be face to face with her but froze once he was staring directly at her.

"Umm… wow." Kyon simply said being at a loss for words.

"What?" Asakura asked, tilting her head to the side.

She was wearing a simple outfit consisting of a plain pair of jeans and a pink bunny tank top. For a person with no memories, Kyon guessed that dressing came as naturally as her cooking skills did. And compared to her uniform, this was actually pleasantly revealing.

"Oh, this?" Asakura said, tugging at her top. "I only wore what I had in my dresser. Is there something wrong?"

"Nope, everything's fine." Kyon quickly said squeezing in another second to stare. "So what have you been up to?"

"I was just taking a walk. I thought that if I walked around the area a little I would remember something." Asakura said.

Kyon noticed that they weren't too far from Nagato's apartment.

"Any luck?" Kyon asked.

"Almost…" Asakura said sorrowfully, "I was so close, but I couldn't get it."

That was a strange way of describing it, but Kyon was beginning to understand how important regaining her memories was to her.

"Don't worry, give it some more time." Kyon comforted. "I don't think we're too far from your house; I'll walk you home."

"Not just yet." Asakura returned to smiling with her usual cheeriness. "I think this walk can go on a little longer. You're here after all. It's too early to say goodbye."

"That would be nice." Kyon agreed.

From there it became a casual evening walk with some light conversation. Like the day before, they found many things to talk about, and they even ended up taking a detour into the park. The lights illuminated their paths along with the quiet cool breeze. It felt to Kyon as if they were the only two people on earth, and it was a nice ending to the day. He couldn't have asked for a better pastime compared to the previous activities of the day.

"Are you sure you aren't tired?" Asakura asked, after she remembered Kyon on the track. "You were exercising really hard."

"I'm used to it now, to a certain extent." Kyon replied. "The most important thing you need to have if you're planning to be with Haruhi is you have to know how to adapt. The standards were pretty high without her making us run our asses off on the track. It's only a matter of time before she wants us to sprout wings and fly, or walk on water. I wouldn't be surprised if I actually did…"

"You really do know her well, don't you?" Asakura asked. "Are you two in a relationship?"

"No way!" Kyon denied.

"I see," she said, looking up at the sky with an honest smile. "Tell me more."

"Things get really crazy with her." Kyon went on. "You never know what's coming up next. With her charisma, there's probably fat chance we're going to lose the track race anyway. I don't really see the point of practicing. I wouldn't be surprised if she won on her own. On top of that she probably has something planned for Saturday too. Events like these are just exhausting."

"Still, I'd really like to see what it's all like. Is it okay if I drop by tomorrow and see the club? Please?"

Kyon admitted that as nutty as Haruhi could be, it was all good fun if you boiled it down. And Haruhi herself would be thrilled to have another underling under her command.

Nagato might also enjoy Asakura's company. Asakura's dinner was the first time Kyon saw Nagato enjoying something, an amazing sight that he'd love to see again. Or what if Asahina and Asakura teamed up to cook for a Brigade dinner? Kyon would love two maids in the clubroom.

He was still thinking about it by the time they arrived in front of the apartment block and their walk had ended.

As crazy as it sounded, he was ready to give it a shot this time. If Asakura had no real friends and no real memories, wouldn't this be the perfect chance to start making them? She seemed sincerely excited over the SOS Brigade. This was a perfect way to help her get past her insecurities, could Kyon really deny her from the opportunity?

He'd take this chance.

Asakura had been walking back to the entrance when he called after her. "You know, if you're still up for it, I'll take you to the clubroom with me tomorrow."

Asakura spun around and grabbed Kyon's hands, beaming with delight. "Thank you so much! Tomorrow then!"

She entered the code at the front entrance, ran through the sliding doors, and continued waving as she disappeared around the corner. Kyon couldn't stop thinking about her smile for the whole night through.


	5. Friday

It was Friday, the last day of school before the Sports Meet. As ever, knowing the weekend was just around the corner was enough to make everyone lazy, including some of the teachers. A general sense of relaxation had settled over the classroom, but not for Kyon.

Asakura hadn't shown up today. Lunch had started, and there wasn't even any slight indication that she was going to arrive for the afternoon classes. Anxious calls from Asakura's friends and admirers had only discovered that her phone was off, and as hopeless as it seemed to Kyon, if he had her number, he too would be attempting to contact her.

To his relief he saw her during the last few minutes of lunch period outside the Teacher's Office area. Terribly pale but, she winked at him as she entered with Okabe. Kyon figured she'd probably just been busy helping arrange the Sports Meet and that it was nothing to worry about.

As lunch ended and they were getting seated for the afternoon classes, Kyon turned around to look at Haruhi. "I saw you jogging outside."

"Did you?" Haruhi replied.

"That reminds me, are we going to have any practice today?"

"Of course we are!" Haruhi suddenly yelled. "It's the last day! And I'll be damned if I let them get in the way!"

Get in the way? Just who would be stupid enough to get in the way of Haruhi? Nevertheless, Kyon prayed for their success.

Asakura came in just halfway through the last period. Looking better than she did during lunch, she took her seat and sat through the rest of class. When it was all over and they were dismissed, Kyon affirmed his resolve and decided to ask Haruhi if Asakura could join them for their weekend activities.

Why would she say no? She was certainly… special enough. She did qualify as a mysterious transfer student, after all. When the last lesson ended, Haruhi left the classroom at top speed allowing Kyon to talk with Asakura.

"So, how come you were late today?" Kyon asked.

"I wasn't feeling well this morning, but I decided to drop by anyway." Asakura smiled. One could tell that she was healthy in spirit.

"I saw you down at the teacher's office at lunch time. What was that about?"

"Originally I was supposed to be helping Okabe plan the Sports Meet events since morning. But after a while he ended up just letting me take over; he couldn't do anything on his own. So I was in the teacher's office since lunch finishing the rest of the arrangements, since it's the last day of school before the Meet and all." Asakura explained.

"I see. Well, I bet you did a great job." Kyon replied.

"I couldn't have." Asakura said modestly. "I think I rushed over some of the arrangements so I could finish before school ended, but I wanted to see Suzumiya and the SOS Brigade today."

"Speaking of which, we can go now if you want." Kyon said.

"We can? Then let's go!" Asakura said, getting her bag in a hurry.

"Slow down, I don't think Haruhi will be in the clubroom when we get there." Kyon replied.

"She won't?"

Kyon shook his head. "When she runs out of the class like that, the last place to find her is the clubroom. She's probably taking care of business somewhere else so if you want to meet her, it'll have to be when she comes back to the clubroom. For the meantime, let's wait there."

"Sure." Asakura said, running into the halls ahead of Kyon.

Kyon stepped out of the classroom to discover she'd disappeared. "Asakura? Where'd you go?"

In a few seconds she was in sight again, walking back along the corridor to him. She laughed embarrassedly. "Which way is the SOS Brigade clubroom again?"

"Follow me." Kyon said. "Don't get so excited that you can't think."

In a minute or two Kyon and Asakura were standing in front of the SOS Brigade Clubroom. Kyon knew now that this was the last chance for her to turn around and leave.

"This is it."

"Why is it in this part of the school? It's hard to find." Asakura replied.

Kyon shrugged. "Are you ready?"

Asakura nodded confidently, but the minute Kyon opened the door, she slipped behind him to use him as cover.

The clubroom scene was as usual, Nagato reading, Asahina serving tea in her maid outfit, Koizumi sitting at the table smiling, setting up the Othello board.

"Good afternoon Kyon." Koizumi smiled. "Do you know where Suzumiya might be?"

"She's out doing something I'm sure." Kyon replied.

Asakura's soft hands clutched his shoulders, reminding Kyon of her presence and what he'd come along to do.

He cleared his throat to gain the Brigade's attention. "And… I brought someone along."

"Hello." Asakura peered out from behind Kyon. He hadn't expected her to be this shy.

Neither Koizumi or Asahina had known Asakura from before she "transferred" away. For them, it was a clean slate.

"Ah, a visitor." Koizumi's ever present smile grew. "I am Koizumi Itsuki. Welcome to our clubroom."

"I'm Asahina Mikuru," said the time traveller, also smiling. "Would you like some tea?"

"Sure, that would be nice," said Asakura, stepping out completely from behind Kyon. Her shyness was rapidly dissolving. It must have been because people were finally introducing themselves before approaching her, and they were officially people she knew now.

Asahina had just finished pouring Asakura's tea when the clubroom door flung open with a force that should have separated it from the hinges, making both herself and Kyon jump.

"Sorry I'm late; I had a few errands to run. Who might this be?" Haruhi asked as she softly closed the door.

That would be the way Kyon would have wanted it to be. But of course it didn't happen that way.

"That stupid track team! They went back on their promise!" Haruhi said angrily, slamming the door behind her before she pushed Kyon aside to get to her desk.

"What's the problem this time?" Kyon asked, regaining his balance.

"They won't let us use the track! This is ridiculous! C'mon Asahina, we have work to do." Haruhi stood up as soon as she just had sat down, grabbed Asahina by the wrist despite her usual protests and began dragging her out of the clubroom. She was at the door when she stopped and finally realized that there was one more person than there should have been. She stared at Asakura as though to make sure she wasn't an illusion.

"Well!" Haruhi said. "What might you be doing here in the clubroom, Ryoko?"

"She's here to visit." Kyon said, trying to discreetly come between the two to keep as much distance between them as possible in an effort to prevent Asakura from catching stupid.

"Okabe's making you do everything for the sports meet isn't he?" Haruhi laughed. "No wonder you came in late today. He's overworking you, that scumbag!"

"You're one to talk," Kyon grumbled. Haruhi ignored him.

"You're here for counselling, am I right?" Haruhi continued, storming up to Asakura. "There are only two types of people that come through that door. There's the people who are associated with the Brigade and the people who have problems that they want us to solve! So that makes you the latter! This is the SOS Brigade! If you have any problems just name them!"

Haruhi's face was now only a few inches away from Asakura's now, her eyes wide with anticipation for what problems Asakura had for her to solve.

Kyon looked back and recalled the time that Haruhi had recruited Nagato, Asahina, and Koizumi into the SOS Brigade. The scared but determined look on Asahina, the ever unchanging expression of Nagato and Koizumi which would be in a state of surprise and confusion if they had been normal humans-

But Asakura was different. Her eyes reflected and held that bright camera flash of a smile Haruhi was giving her. Staring in awe, amazement, and wonder at this fascinating creature as if it was everything she had ever wished it to be. Kyon could've sworn she reflected the exact same excited stupidity when she replied.

"I would like to join!"

Kyon dropped his cup of tea which shattered on the floor. Nobody took any notice; it was the least of the disturbances currently going on in this room. Haruhi had jumped back as if she had just been slapped in the face.

"C-come again?" She stuttered, losing her balance as she sank into a chair nearby.

Haruhi had just been beaten at her own game. Kyon had never seen her at such a loss for words.

"I would like to join the SOS Brigade," Asakura said with solid confidence.

Haruhi was back on her feet, determined not to let that happen again.

"No!" She replied. "Absolutely not! It's impossible for an average, class president, goody two shoes, role model student to even be in the SOS Brigade!

"Yeah! Impossible!" Kyon agreed, pointed at Asakura. "Never in an infinity years!"

"But I like you!" Haruhi said.

"Wait, what?" Kyon yelled, never having felt more betrayed in his life.

"I've never been this surprised in a while!" Haruhi laughed. "You have guts. I think there's a lot to exploit here."

"I don't believe this." Kyon face palmed.

"You should stop being so negative Kyon." Haruhi scolded. "Now go with Koizumi and get a few chairs from the auditorium."

"The auditorium? That's on the other side of the school. Can't we just find the chairs somewhere nearer?" Kyon asked.

"The ones in the auditorium are the same ones we use in the clubroom. Conformity marks our place in the Brigade! All of us should believe that no one should be singled out, whether it's different chairs or colored tea cups. No, we shall have none of that thank you. You agree don't you?" Haruhi said.

"Whatever," Kyon sighed, leaving to get the chairs. The sooner it's over, the better.

And Koizumi followed.

"I don't get her." Kyon complained as the two were on their way to the auditorium. "She's… she's… ugh…"

"Try not to get too worked up over it." Koizumi said. "You should be used to it by now."

"I know…"

"She had been in a good mood this whole week. I feared that being denied the track would be something to create a Closed Space over, but I am glad that Asakura came along to clear it up. Now there's no need to run or worry over another Closed Space today."

They continued on and finally reached the auditorium. There were no chairs.

"I should have known," Kyon said.

"I wondered why Suzumiya would ask us to find chairs here. There weren't any to begin with." Koizumi shrugged.

"Say that again." Kyon said, a vein bulging dangerously on his forehead.

"In fact, there were the same chairs in the closet in the clubroom. I didn't see the need to leave at all." Koizumi continued.

"And you couldn't say anything about it before?" Kyon said, through gritted teeth.

"I thought you knew."

"I'm sorry Koizumi, but I think you'll be dealing with some Closed Space tonight. That's if there is a tonight for any of us after I'm through with her." Kyon growled, stomping swiftly out of the auditorium.

"Kyon wait! Please reconsider!" Koizumi chased after Kyon. "I cannot afford to lose any more sleep!"

Kyon covered the distance between the auditorium and the clubroom in half the time he had spent before. By the time he was in front of the clubroom he was ready to give her a piece of his mind.

"Haruhi! Are you out of your fu-"

Kyon froze at what he had just barged in on, his anger gone in a flash, replaced with utter shock. He couldn't believe it.

"Hey, close the door Kyon." Haruhi said, not even asking where the chairs were. She just continued taking pictures.

"Why are you doing this Asakura?" Kyon asked.

"I thought it was interesting." Asakura explained. "It's even more fun pairing up with Asahina."

Asahina and Asakura were both in red and blue bunny costumes respectively, posing as Haruhi snapped pictures of the two.

After being tricked by Haruhi, Kyon had thought that it was impossible for his luck to sink any lower. Haruhi sat at her desk wearing a slightly irritated expression while she printed copies of the photos with the printer she had made the Computer Society President install. There was no trace that she was enjoying herself just a moment ago.

"What's wrong now?" Kyon asked sarcastically. "Should I get a chair?"

"That's a great idea; why don't you go for a walk?" Haruhi shot back.

"Why is Suzumiya in a bad mood?" Asakura asked Kyon quietly.

"She got rejected by the track team." Kyon replied. "It's probably because they wanted some of their own practice on the actual track before the meet."

"We should be out jogging on the streets, but I'd rather not do anything than be humiliated by taking an alternative." Haruhi said bitterly. "I can't wait to see the look on their faces when we beat them without breaking a sweat!"

"Well, I could ask them to let you use the track." Asakura said. "If you want we can go right now."

"Is that so? Now why would they listen to someone like you?" Haruhi asked, sceptical.

"I'm a class president and the Sports Meets Planner. I can give them anything they want within reason and they're sure to do me a favor in return." Asakura explained.

Kyon watched in horror, already regretting bringing it up, and not just because of the dirty looks Koizumi and Asahina were giving him.

"No way! I'm not going to negotiate! It's not enough for me to win! The track team must lose!" Haruhi said.

There was a collective sigh of relief from Kyon, Koizumi, and Asahina.

"But this is interesting!" Haruhi laughed. "I forgot you had power! Imagine where you could potentially be two years from now! If you claw yourself up to Student Body President, we could use you to the Brigade's advantage! You'll do us favors then won't you?"

"I sure will." Asakura smiled.

Kyon knew that Class President or anything similar was the last thing Asakura wanted people to mistake her for, so her reply to Haruhi came as a surprise. On the bright side, it was only the first day and she was already beginning to feel at home.

"And one last thing." Haruhi added, as she was about to dismiss the Brigade.

"Yes?" Asakura answered.

"Tomorrow in front of the station at nine! Make sure you aren't late like you were today!" She said before running out of the door.

Koizumi said his goodbyes and followed after her, and Kyon grabbed his bag and waited outside the clubroom for Asakura to change out of her bunny costume.

"Well, congratulations," He said as she left the room. "I guess you're one of us."

Asakura nodded, beaming.

That night before Kyon went to bed, he pulled out the needle gun again, once more wondering if it had any use now.


	6. Saturday

Saturday, the day of the SOS Brigade's weekly mystery hunt. The members met up at nine by the station in the morning and the last one to arrive would be treating them to drinks. The first members would arrive an hour to half an hour early, Haruhi being the first of course.

Today however, would be different. Kyon was determined not to make a fool of himself on Asakura's first hunt. He didn't want to give her the wrong idea that it was a regular practice every week to be treated to a lunch by Kyon, not that it wasn't regular practice…

In order to make sure it didn't happen this week, Kyon came as early as he could, arriving at seven thirty, a full hour and a half before the meeting time. As such, the station was near deserted when he got there, barring a few people getting to their jobs. That made it even more surprising when he found Asakura sitting alone at a bench.

"You're out early." Kyon said as he sat beside her.

"Good morning Kyon." Asakura replied warmly. "You're early too, I see."

"Of course I am. I always come at this time."

"Not what I've heard from Suzumiya…"

Kyon twitched. "And what did you hear?"

"I'm not supposed to say. She made me promise to keep it a secret."

"Is there something wrong? You sound disappointed." Kyon said.

"Well, she was talking about how you're lazy and always show up last so you have to treat everyone to drinks," Asakura said.

"Eh? No I'm not." Kyon said, hoping she wouldn't see past his feeble lie. "What? You wanted me to buy drinks?"

"That's kind of what I was hoping." Asakura said, smiling. "Why'd you come early today? Was it because you didn't want to buy me a drink?"

"No, I just didn't want to show up late and last with the new member." Kyon explained.

"I see," said Asakura, although she seemed as though she'd been keen on those drinks.

"Don't worry, even if it's not me, someone else will have to pay for them."

"Well, I suppose," said Asakura, looking off into space. "The truth is that really was looking forward to you buying me one."

It was still a long way off before the decided meeting time. There was no sign of the others, not even Haruhi. As Kyon found himself yawning, he began to wonder if he had arrived a little too early.

"Hey Kyon, now that I think about it, if Suzumiya sees us here together she'll think that I let our secret out." Asakura said. "Can you do me a favor and leave until the other members come back?"

"…are you serious?"

"I don't want Suzumiya to think that I'm untrustworthy. Can you do it for me?."

Kyon groaned. He had made a real effort to wake up early so he wouldn't look like a fool buying everyone drinks. He'd hate to have all that effort go to waste considering how much he'd looked forward to seeing the look on Haruhi's face when she saw that he arrived before her. This'd also mean another burden on his wallet, but on the other hand, there was a greater meaning to all this. He didn't want Haruhi giving Asakura a hard time over something as small as a trivial secret.

"Aww…" Kyon groaned as he got off the bench and began walking away.

"Thanks Kyon!" Asakura replied, clearly grateful.

With a sigh, Kyon got off the bench and retreated behind some bushes where the meeting spot was clearly visible and yet he was far enough not to run into anyone from the Brigade. He began to wonder what Haruhi had told Asakura. If both were keeping it from him, it was most likely something against him.

"Asakura! Well you're early!" Haruhi waved, being the first to arrive at the site.

Kyon checked his watch. It was now eight in the morning. One hour before the meeting time. He saw Asakura's lips moving but couldn't hear what she said, unlike Haruhi's voice which was loud and perfectly audible.

"Oh, the others will be here in a minute!" Haruhi laughed. "Nope! I'm sure that bum will be last! Yeah! Every week I tell ya!"

Kyon started steaming from behind the bush. So this was a conspiracy against him.

Exactly a minute later, Koizumi had arrived, along with Nagato and Asahina at the same time.

"Good morning Suzumiya, Asakura." He managed to make out Koizumi's words, and could then hear Haruhi laugh about the laziest member of the Brigade who'd take an hour to show up some more.

Kyon growled from behind the bush, wanting to jump out from behind and prove them the hell wrong. But for Asakura's sake he had to arrive casually. It didn't matter if he was way earlier than he usually was. Haruhi wouldn't suspect anything as long as he was last she got her stupid drinks-

In all the effort to wake up during the ungodly hours of the morning, he realized that he'd left his wallet at home.

An hour later, Kyon showed up. He'd taken his sweet time going all the way back to his house and back to the meeting spot with his wallet, figuring that it was pointless to get back as soon as possible. Besides, Asakura was probably having the time of her life spending time with the Brigade, and he didn't want to start the search earlier than it needed it to be.

After a scolding from Haruhi in front of the Brigade as usual, they all stopped by at the usual restaurant for their long awaited drinks and planning for search parties... but mostly drinks.

"I'll have a coffee." Haruhi ordered.

"Tea please," said Asahina.

"Water." Nagato said.

"I'll have…" Koizumi began but noticed Kyon glaring at him. "Water too..."

"Double Sundae Deluxe." That came from Asakura, causing Kyon to gape. What the hell? It was nine in the morning.

"Oh, impressive!" said Haruhi, looking like she was considering ordering it next time.

Kyon emptied his wallet and started counting his bills sporting a first class sturgeon face.

It didn't take too long for everyone to finish their drinks, but Asakura took more time, considering the gargantuan bowl of ice cream sitting in front of her. She scraped away at the mountain with her miniscule spoon, very much enjoying every bite.

"Alright everyone, draw your toothpicks!" Haruhi shouted once she'd finished marking them.

The draw resulted in Haruhi, Asahina, and Nagato being in one group, and Kyon, Koizumi, and Asakura in the other.

"And make sure he doesn't slack off!" Predictably, Haruhi ordered Vice Deputy Koizumi to oversee Kyon.

"Yes ma'am." Koizumi smiled.

"We all meet back here in an hour! Make sure everyone's on time!"

The two groups went in their opposite directions looking for mysteries that they were most likely unable to find.

"Looking for mysteries? What exactly does Suzumiya mean?" Asakura asked Kyon.

"Well, she wants us to look for weird stuff." Kyon explained. "I remember this one time where she told me to count the crosswalk lines on the intersection to see if they'd mysteriously changed in number."

"Did you find anything?"

"Nope." Kyon replied. "That's why the team without Haruhi just goes off and finds things to do to pass the time. Speaking of which, where do you want to go?"

Koizumi suggested the park, something the others had no objection to. Once they arrived, Kyon recognised it to be the same park he'd been jogging through with Haruhi. It was a warm morning, but there was a cool breeze going around giving it an aura of serenity, and Kyon flopped down on a bench, closing his eyes as Koizumi sat beside him, while Asakura examined a vending machine nearby.

"Hey Kyon." Asakura called.

"Yes?" Kyon snapped awake; he'd nearly fallen asleep from waking up too early this morning.

"Can you get me one?" Asakura pointed at the row of assorted drinks behind the glass window.

"After that sundae?" Kyon asked, getting up and going through his pockets.

"Not enough money Kyon?" Koizumi asked. "Allow me; I haven't gotten a welcome gift for our new member."

"No, I've got it." Kyon replied, counting the coins on his palm. He walked over to the machine and inserted them. "Which one do you want?"

"Whichever one you think is good." Asakura replied.

Kyon shrugged and chose the energy drink that Haruhi had gotten for him a few nights ago. With a clunk the can fell into the compartment- and then a second.

"Huh, well there's a stroke of luck," Kyon said as he stooped for first can following the free second.

"Isn't that weird? Should we tell Suzumiya about this?"

"No way, I don't want her knowing that we were in a park buying drinks and having a good time," said Kyon, as he handed Asakura one of the cans. "She'll be forcing money out of everyone in the Brigade trying to make it happen again. God help us if it does, she'll be milking it for everything this machine has."

Asakura grinned as she accepted it. "What a shame, I was planning to share one with you."

"W-what kind of joke is that?" Kyon stammered.

As Kyon returned to his seat, Koizumi's phone rang. He tried to listen in, but couldn't hear anything from the receiver and he had no hints of what the call was about because Koizumi wasn't saying anything either. He wondered if it was going to be about Closed Space or some other problem of similar magnitude.

"What was it?" Kyon asked once the call had ended and Koizumi was putting away his phone.

"You have been very concerned with my phone calls lately." Koizumi smiled.

"Of course, they always have something to do with a problem, don't they?"

"Not this time. Well, it depends on the point of view." He shrugged. "It was Suzumiya."

"Haruhi? What does she want? I bet she was asking you if I was slacking off or not."

"She did ask, but I did not have the chance to answer." Koizumi replied. "She has requested that we pick something up for her."

"I see," Kyon said, trying to hide his disappointment that they actually had some work do, where they needed something to show for it too. "How far do we have to go?"

"From what Suzumiya told me, it shouldn't be too far from here." Koizumi pointed down the path leading out of the park.

Whether if it was because Haruhi knew they weren't searching or she was just abusing her power, it annoyed to Kyon know that Haruhi would send them to take care of one of her errands. That girl wouldn't let them go even if they had the news that one of their family members had just died in a horrible accident.

At least it was an easy job, Kyon thought as Koizumi led them in front of a costume store.

"A costume store? What does Haruhi want Asahina to wear this time?" Kyon asked.

Koizumi shrugged. "They should know who we are and give us whatever Suzumiya had wanted us to receive."

He led them inside the store. It was fairly roomy, like a small convenience store, but the merchandise wasn't anything Kyon had expected. It would put their little costume rack in the clubroom to shame. The store's collection was several times bigger and the assortment of costumes covered all the walls and everything in between.

"North High uniforms," Said The lady at the far end of the store asked. "are you here to pick up the costume for Miss Suzimiya?"

"That's right," said Kyon.

"I was told you were going to be late." The lady chuckled at Kyon's sigh. "Anyways, I'll wrap it up for you."

She disappeared into the back room, leaving the three alone in the shop front. Kyon was looking at some cosplay outfits from various animes fantasising about who knows what. He felt a tug at his sleeve and turned to see Asakura.

"Kyon, I have to tell you something."

"What is it? If it's about the costumes, I'm broke."

"No, it's not that. I think I feel my memories." Asakura whispered.

"You do? So, what are we supposed to do?"

"This way." Asakura said, as she pulled Kyon towards the exit.

"Oh? Where might you two be going?" Koizumi asked.

"Get the costume for me Koizumi, I have to go somewhere." Kyon said.

Kyon and Asakura left a shrugging Koizumi behind in the store. Asakura continued to pull Kyon around and after a minute or two of walking she stopped at the corner of a sidewalk.

"Where are we supposed to be going?" Kyon asked. "How are we supposed to find your memories?"

"I followed my instincts… but it's gone."

Kyon didn't really understand how she sensed her memories, or what they were supposed to do even if they found them. Kyon watched the sulking Asakura for what felt like hours before he realised that something had happened to their surroundings.

The sky was black and everything around him was pure white or in shadows, as though they were on the moon. All color had faded. The world felt dead and devoid of anything, the cool breeze and hot sunlight of a few moments ago completely lost.

Kyon's first reaction was that he was in Closed Space, but he knew this was no ordinary Closed Space if it was one.

Asakura hugged Kyon's arm in fright. "What is this? Where are we?"

"I have no idea." Kyon replied, looking around yet not even sure what he was looking for. "Does this have something to do with your memories?"

"I don't think so. What should we do?"

If it was a Closed Space, then they had some chance of running into Koizumi. With that in mind, the best course of action would be to-

"Let's go back to the shop, Asakura." Kyon said, and Asakura nodded into his arm.

The two walked down the eerily lit road back to the costume shop. Barring their footsteps, there was absolute silence. Each step they took echoed through the neighborhood.

Kyon quickly jerked around and began to frantically scan the area behind him.

"W-what is it?" Asakura said, her voice muffled as she still couldn't unstick her face from Kyon's arm.

Kyon shook his head as he turned back. He was so sure that there had been something behind him. He turned back around-

And let out a scream, followed by Asakura's muffled one into his arm.

It wasn't the most horrific thing that Kyon had expected to see in this atmosphere, but it sure was trying to be. The lighting of the Space didn't help, it actually made it worse.

"Kyon, calm down, it's just me." Koizumi had appeared out of thin air, holding a paper bag that likely contained the costume from the shop.

"Where the hell did you come from?" Kyon asked, clutching at his chest. "And stop smiling! You almost gave me a heart attack!"

"I simply entered this Space." Koizumi said. "I do say this is an unusual phenomenon. Well, we should be getting out of here."

"Get out? How? Will it fade like last time?"

"I would rather not take chances with a Closed Space we know nothing about." Koizumi held out his hand. "Hold my hand and I shall get you out of here."

Kyon reluctantly took Koizumi's hand. In a moment he could feel the cool breeze once more and found himself back in the real world, Asakura still holding on to his arm.

"We have our costume." Kyon said. "How long do we have before we have to meet up back at the restaurant?"

Koizumi appeared not to have noticed Kyon's words. "Closed Spaces have never appeared with a person inside before…" he trailed off.

"The time Koizumi!" Kyon said. "Forget the closed space and talk it over with your buddies later."

"Hm? Oh, of course." Koizumi said, checking his watch. "We have about twenty minutes."

"Good, if we start now we'll be there with time to spare." Kyon said, before he looked over at the girl still clinging to him. "Are you alright, Asakura?"

"I think so. Boy, that was a scare…" Asakura shuddered. "But don't worry about me, I'm fine now."

"Do you still sense your memories?" Kyon asked.

"No. But more importantly, where were we just now?"

"It's nothing to worry about." Kyon said, sending a short glance at Koizumi. "Happens all the time."

"If you say so." Asakura said, in a sorrowful tone. "I can't sense them anymore"

"This is just the start, so don't feel so down. Tell you what; I'll treat you to something at the restaurant."

That put a smile back on Asakura's face, and she nodded.

"And uh, Asakura? You can let go of me now."

"Oh! Yes, of course." Asakura quickly retracted her hand.

The Brigade met back at the restaurant as scheduled. For once Kyon's group was early and Haruhi's scowl that she always wore after finding nothing grew larger once she saw that he had bought only Asakura a drink.

"What about me- I mean us!" She quickly corrected herself.

"I arrived here early, so I'll by drinks for whoever the hell I want." Kyon smirked, and Asakura nodded in agreement while sipping her soda ice-cream float through a straw.

The groups were the same during the final half of the search, much to Haruhi's dismay. By the end of the last search, there were no results or finds. As usual.

"Everyone is dismissed! See you guys next week." Haruhi abruptly finished, running off, cueing the other members to start taking their separate directions home.

"Today was fun Kyon." Asakura smiled. "I'd like to do it again."

"You have next week," Kyon said, "and the week after that. And the week after that, and so on and…"

He paused as he imagined more Saturdays with her forced to empty his wallet for Haruhi's whims. Shuddering in horror, he quickly changed the subject.

"Are you still down about your memories?"

"Not anymore. I had too much fun today." Asakura paused, as though deciding what to say. "Thanks for everything."

Slightly red, she walked away. When she was nearly out of view, she turned and waved. As Kyon waved back, his thoughts went to her last words.

"Everything huh?"


	7. Sunday Part 1

Kyon spent most of Sunday morning in his room switching between reading manga, watching TV, and playing video games. In the afternoon he decided to take a nap due to his derailed sleeping schedule after having woken up at six the previous day.

The last thing he wanted to do was go outside. Frankly, he'd seen more than enough. He began to wonder why he even put up with Haruhi and went out every week to search for something they would never find.

Was it because the world might end if he wouldn't? Was it because it would be better for him to just let Haruhi have her way because it would be more of a pain if she didn't? Kyon had finally found a mystery, and ironically he hadn't needed to leave his bed to find one.

But what had caused this mystery and how could it be solved? He thought hard about his motives for leaving his bed the day before. There really wasn't anything different from what he usually did, with the exception of Asakura. He didn't know why, but she caused him to break his routine. For once he actually had had a reason to go.

Kyon's cell began to ring. Groggy from just waking up from his sleep, Kyon groped wildly around his bed for the source of the vibration and found his phone.

"Hello?" he yawned.

"Kyon? This is Koizumi."

Kyon groaned. "Yeah? What do you want?"

"Where are you?"

"What do you mean? I'm in my house? Why do you need to know?"

"You haven't noticed?" Koizumi asked.

"What am I supposed to be noticing?"

There was a pause, and Kyon stretched back into his bed, slowly drifting back into sleep.

"Now Kyon, remember that Closed Space you were in with Asakura yesterday afternoon?" Koizumi finally said.

"Yeah? What about it?" he replied, making an effort to be fully awake once he detected the seriousness of Koizumi's voice.

"Look outside your window and tell me what you see."

Kyon grunted in reply and walked over to his window to pull back the curtains.

The scenery outside was everything but normal. The same feeling he'd had when he was in that Closed Space yesterday. It was like he was on the moon but there were no stars in the sky. The streets were deserted. Everything was lit up, but there was no source of light to be found. The only thing stranger than the lighting was the shadows. One could not tell which direction they were being cast. Oddly enough, the only colored area in the entire space seemed to be Kyon's room, and possibly his house.

"Are you in the Closed Space?" Koizumi asked.

"Yeah. It's just like the one we were in yesterday."

"Is there anyone with you?" Koizumi asked. "Anyone in the house?"

Kyon felt the hairs on the back of his neck stand up as he left his room. He looked through the other bedrooms first, and then swept the whole house for any sign of his family. He found no one. Almost trembling, he returned to his room, taking care to lock the door behind him.

"You can get me out of here, right? Like you did yesterday." Kyon said.

"I am actually standing right next to the perimeter of the Closed Space." Koizumi said gravely. "Neither I or my colleagues are able to enter. We have been sealed off by another force that our powers have no jurisdiction over."

"You can't do anything? How are you going to get me out? How long will I be stuck here?"

"Nagato is currently finding a way to break inside so that we can get you out. It appears that this kind of barrier is her specialty. Unfortunately, it's proving quite the challenge."

A challenge even for Nagato?

"Nagato had mentioned that she has given you a weapon for self defense." Koizumi said.

Kyon immediately leaped around the room looking for his pants. He picked them up and rummaged through the pockets. Sure enough, the needle gun was there, in perfect condition, never used.

"I have it right here." Kyon said, almost pushing the gun into the phone receiver.

"Now I must ask you to remain calm." Koizumi said, sensing the panic in Kyon's voice.

"I-I am calm."

"Kyon, this space is extremely difficult to break into. No doubt it will also be difficult to leave. This is not the work of Suzumiya's subconscious powers. This is not the usual Closed Space that appears randomly."

Koizumi was starting to break up. His voice was barely audible in the static. Both knew that the esper had little time to talk and Kyon dared not interrupt him.

"Someone or something is current doing everything it can to keep us out, and keep you in…" Koizumi said, before his voice was drowned out by the static. He was lost.

"What? What is it?" Kyon asked, pressing the speaker to his ear to catch any hint of Koizumi's voice over the static.

Kyon put his phone down on the table. He was getting worked up. Why did Koizumi ask if he had the needle gun? Just who or what is the something or someone Koizumi was talking about? Well, if he wanted Kyon to defend himself, it obviously meant that something is hostile and is after him.

The phone began vibrating again. He snatched it up as fast as he could and answered it without hesitation.

"Hello? Koizumi, are you there?"

"School." Koizumi's voice had been replaced by Nagato. "Go to the school."

"The school? How come?"

"In order to grant us entry into the space you must accept the connection from inside. You must access the SOS Brigade clubroom computer and follow what I tell you to do."

"I understand. But tell me, what's out there?"

"I do not know." Nagato replied. "The connection is being severed."

The static had returned and Kyon realised he was about to lose Nagato as he did Koizumi. He heard one last word from Nagato before it cut off completely.

"Hurry."

The phone died this time. It was useless. Kyon threw it aside and changed out of his pajamas.

The only thing on his mind was getting to the school as fast as possible. He'd be able to go full speed on his bike. There were no cars, no traffic lights, no anything to slow him down. He was pretty confident in his speed too; a week of Haruhi's training had its own benefits. He just hoped that the hostile thing wasn't as fast as he was, or that it wasn't what he thought it was.

"One, two, three." Kyon muttered under his breath as he pedalled as fast as he could down the road.

It was in its own way, exhilarating. The suspense of being killed combined with the freedom of speeding one's bike down an empty, grey, downhill, empty stretch of road. The sound of whirring chains and heavy breathing filled the vacant suburbs. Kyon's heart was beating rapidly, but not because he was pumping everything he had into the bike. He was beginning to think that it was going to be over without a hitch.

After a minute of cycling, he'd made good progress. And then he saw a figure standing in the middle of the road. Kyon's heart skipped a beat as he realised he was coming closer and closer to the figure, and the only thing it could be was this hostile thing.

It had been waiting for Kyon to show up and now it was right in front of him ready to finish him off. Kyon wanted to squeeze his brake but couldn't. All the energy had left his fingers. He considered running over the figure. No, if it dodged or attacked god knew how long he'd last, he didn't want to approach it altogether.

His thoughts were too slow, but by the time he had decided he was mere seconds away from colliding into the figure. He turned as hard as he could, aiming for a thicket of bushes on the lawn of one of the houses.

The bike spun out of control and Kyon crashed on the soft grass, rolling across the lawn once he landed.

His head spinning, his vision blurred, he tried to get into a sitting position, before seeing the figure run towards him. Kyon fell back onto the grass, eyes closed, hands raised above his head, as though they'd shield him from harm.

"Are you alright?" said a voice that was chilling and warm at the same time. "Look at your hands! They're all cut up!"

"A-Asakura!" Kyon's eyes snapped open. He gave a great sigh of relief, and managed to sit up again, his knees too weak to support his weight, as Asakura brushed the dirt off his scratched up palms. "Why are you here?"

"I'm not sure. I was in my room, and then I sensed my memories again-"

"Did you have to do that?" Kyon asked. "It looks like this happens every time you sense your memories."

"I had to. I want to know who I was…"

"Look Asakura, it's not safe being here right now. We have to get to the school as soon as possible."

"How come?"

"Something's out there. Something that's after me." Kyon went over to his bike to pick it up.

"What? Who's after you?"

"I'm not sure I can explain," Kyon said. His only guess on what the hostile thing could be was proven wrong now he'd run into Asakura. Now he was left with no ideas about what could possibly want to trap him in the Space with her.

Kyon got back onto his bike, shifting forwards so the seat was mostly free. "Come on."

Asakura climbed on behind him and once again Kyon went zooming down the road.

They reached the school building in mere minutes. Not bothering to stop and park his bike in front of the gate, Kyon rode right past it and stopped at the entrance of the school.

The two climbed off the bike and Kyon propped it against a wall, before they entered the building.

If it hadn't been for the windows, the building would have been in complete darkness. The light that shone through the windows was almost exactly like moonlight. They walked through the dark halls, stopping by the teacher's office for the keys to the clubroom.

"This is creepy." Asakura said, finding Kyon's hand in the darkness.

"I know." Kyon replied. "Wait, we're here."

They had stopped outside the SOS clubroom, to Asakura's surprise. "So why did we come here?"

"It's our way out." Kyon said, unlocking the door and stepping inside. He sat at Haruhi's desk and switched on the computer, while Asakura sat down on the table.

The computer whirred on but the screen remained blank. Kyon waited impatiently, even tapping the top of the monitor a few times, but still nothing came up on the screen.

"Are you done?" Asakura asked, unable to see the screen. "Whatever it is you're doing-"

Kyon couldn't hear her. He was completely distracted by the text that had appeared on the screen in blue letters.

_**Data cannot be created_**_

"What?" Kyon said, confused wondering if it was Nagato.

_**Data cannot be DESTROYED_**_

Kyon tried to type a reply, but discovered that the computer wasn't responding. It only continued to bring up more words.

_**Nagato Yuki will not save you_**_

Kyon's fingers froze on the keyboard, unable to tear his eyes away from the words.

_**I will kill you this time_**_

Kyon jumped out of the chair, it falling aside. Asakura looked up, startled, while he placed his palms on the desk, the words burnt into his mind. Who- why was this here instead of Nagato's rescue? What had happened- no, no, it couldn't be-

"Kyon!" Asakura yelled, running at him.

The light shining into the room from the only window behind Kyon was eclipsed by a shadow. Just as Kyon turned around to see what it was, Asakura pushed him down.

As Kyon fell to the floor with Asakura, he saw a streak of silver cut the computer monitor in half. Then as if someone was controlling his body, he'd sprung to his feet, pulled up Asakura and was running with all his might down the hall away from the clubroom with her.


	8. Sunday Part 2

Kyon had no idea where he was running or even trying to get to. Or whether he could even escape, or was he just buying time before his inevitable death.

He finally stopped in the auditorium, his lungs on fire. Asakura looked like she was about to pass out from exhaustion. Kyon locked the double doors behind them, before he helped Asakura to a dark corner where the light from the windows couldn't reach. They collapsed onto the floor, their breath heavy.

He could only hope that whatever was trying to kill him wouldn't find them there. But by how loud they were panting, hiding would soon prove useless.

The double doors flew open, pieces of the lock flew across the room. Asakura gripped Kyon's hand even tighter as the shadow entered the auditorium. Besides from the patches of light on the floor from the windows, everything else was covered in darkness. There was no way to tell what it was.

The shadow's glowing eyes turned straight towards them. It knew where they were. Hidden in the blackness, it seemed formless and the only thing Kyon was sure about was that it was looking straight at them and the fact that it was getting closer.

And as it approached, it stepped into one of the patches of light, revealing itself.

"What the- Asakura?" Kyon said, looking back to the person holding his hand. No, this was Asakura- but then, why was there a second Asakura in front of them?

"I am no longer Asakura Ryoko." The clone said. "The one next to you is who you refer to, my inferior human counterpart. Simply call me Blue. It is nice to meet you in person again, Kyon."

"How? I thought Nagato finished you."

"Data cannot be completely created nor destroyed, with the exception of Suzumiya of course. When Nagato terminated my link to the Data Sentient Entity, I was merely dispersed into space as basic fragments of data. However, my consciousness remained. I do not know how or why I was condemned to drift the darkness. According to my calculations I was sure that was the end."

Kyon's eyes drifted to her hand which was wielding the knife, shimmering in the silver light. He wondered how long her explanation would go on for before he felt cold metal sink into his flesh.

"But then there was, what you humans call, hope." Blue continued. "I was called back. Picked from wherever I was mindlessly drifting and brought forward to none other than Suzumiya herself. Choice fragments of data were also collected, called and pieced together unconsciously by her, her abilities. The result was that I was now able to travel at will. I also had the ability to manipulate data on a fundamental level. What I needed was a body. It was a simple task. I needed a mass amount of blank data. Suzumiya was the perfect source to obtain it. There is always an endless flow of data originating from her. I finally had a body, but there was a miscalculation, a backfire from using Suzumiya's data that I hadn't counted on."

Asakura was silent, intently listening to every word of her origin, even if she didn't understand it all.

"I hadn't merely conjured a body for myself but I had recreated Asakura Ryoko as Suzumiya knew her. My human counterpart was the owner of the body, not me. I was trapped, forced to follow her wherever she went, having no say. I had brought her scraps of her existence into this world. If I were to explain to you, I would say that I was frustrated. She had no idea who she was or where she was. No memory of anything."

Blue almost sighed, before continuing. "I feared that my one chance of revival would be foiled by Nagato Yuki as soon as she discovered my human counterpart. But no, my counterpart maintained my routine procedures and did a very good job fooling Nagato Yuki and everyone around her into believing that she was harmless. And of course she was."

Kyon felt Asakura's hand slipping away from his.

"But I, however decrepit my condition was at the time, was still very much a threat." Blue held her knife up to eye level and caressed it. "I was able to tempt Asakura Ryoko with hints of her memories, or to put it simply, bait. I finally had a means of control. Of course this was the very beginning."

There were silent sobs from beside Kyon.

"I had believed at first that it would be impossible to approach you, Kyon." Blue paced back and forth in the patch of light, her face lit up with a gleeful smile as she continued her monologue. As if reliving the thrill of having her plans fall so perfectly into place. "Not with the knowledge you had about me. Why, I expected you to head overseas as soon as you saw Asakura Ryoko enter your classroom. But once again, I was impressed by my human counterpart. She was able to get close to you, even develop mutual feelings of romance. This was the key. You were my only way to be near Suzumiya again."

Through Kyon's fear, he began to feel rage build in the pit of his stomach. Blue's knife seemed inconsequential at the moment; not while she continued to detail how Asakura had never been anything more than a puppet with nothing to her past or existence.

His hand inched towards his pocket.

"I had begun to ascend to the level of my former power. Soon I was able to completely control my body for short periods of time. I was able to create these Spaces by using Suzumiya's data. With your introduction into your little group, I was able to collect all the data I needed to construct this space, my finest work, and its purpose, to separate me from my human counterpart, to trap you both as I hunt you down, erase my inferior half, and to tie up the loose ends."

Blue had stopped pacing and stopped right at the centre of the patch of light. The light highlighted her mad smile.

"Being a product of Suzumiya's data, I now know how to manipulate her abilities." Her voice was as calm and dangerous as it can possibly be. It chilled Kyon to the very bone. "I have immunity. Her powers have no effect on me now. She cannot curse me out of existence as I slaughter everyone close and important to her. I will destroy her world and she will escape to another where I shall be waiting for her. Think of all the things that I would be able to observe if I killed you right now!"

Her speech was at its end. She pointed the knife straight at Kyon.

"I do hope you two had a nice time together. Isn't this better for you Asakura Ryoko? Your life was a lie and I shall end it."

"You're one to talk!"

Kyon whipped out the needle gun as fast as he could and shot at Blue. His aim was spot on, but the moment he pulled the trigger, everything went pitch black. It became clear that she had dodged. The windows had disappeared. Light no longer penetrated into the auditorium. The sound of rapid footsteps sped closer and closer.

Out of instinct Kyon pushed Asakura out of the way, and a moment later he felt a warm flow of blood running down his cut shoulder. Blue had just missed his head. She leaped backwards to prepare for another strike.

Just then, with a bang the ceiling exploded. An avalanche of debris fell between him and Blue. The source of the explosion, a great red ball of light, lowered itself into the auditorium through the hole in the ceiling illuminating every crevice with a crimson glow. Kyon took this chance to check where Asakura was. She was behind him, staring at the red ball in wonder.

It reached the bottom setting itself down on top of the pile of rubble. The light shut off and was replaced by a boy, a smiling boy, with the silver light shining through the hole and down on him like a spotlight. It was none other than-

"Koizumi!"

Koizumi turned, his hand raised. The next thing Kyon saw was a great hole where the double doors were.

"Escape Kyon, with the other Asakura." Koizumi's voice was dead serious, his gaze locked on Blue. "Get as far away from here as you can.

Kyon now had a confidence in Koizumi he never would have thought he would ever have. Up until this point he had believed Koizumi to be nothing more than a glowing fairy. After seeing him blast through the ceiling and the wall-

"You're sooner than I expected." Blue sneered.

"I believe it is two against one this time," Koizumi replied, powering up into his crimson aura. "Miss Ryoko."

Kyon pocketed his needle gun and once again grabbed Asakura by the wrist. They dashed out of the auditorium through the hole Koizumi had made.

"My name is Blue!"

Kyon and Asakura were halfway down the hallway away from the auditorium when the force of an explosion almost lifted them off their feet. Kyon looked back just in time to see the entire auditorium collapse. Koizumi and Blue were flying orbs of red and blue, colliding with each other, exchanging blows.

Kyon caught his balance and tried to keep going forward. But Asakura was pulling the other way.

"My memories…" She said numbly. "They're here."

"They're not your memories! It's a trick!" Kyon yelled over the explosions as Koizumi and Asakura's battle was now over the track field, visible from the hallway windows.

"I know they won't disappear this time. They can't be lies…" Asakura said, glass-eyed.

"They never existed! They were never lies! They were never anything!"

"No!" Asakura screamed. "It feels horrible to sense these memories! The pricking sensation inside like a thorn! Every time I feel like I'm going insane! We have to check, we just have to!"

Asakura pulled free from Kyon's grip and began running in the direction of the destroyed auditorium.

"Do you want to die?" Kyon screamed after her.

"I…" Asakura halted as she turned back to look at him.

"If you die it's over! No more memories, nothing!" Kyon continued as more of Blue's blasts hit the building nearby.

Each blast seemed to hit nearer and nearer to the hallway, and Kyon realised Blue was aiming for them.

Asakura remained frozen, still staring at Kyon, her inner conflict clear on her face.

"GODDAMN IT! " Kyon yelled. "YOU WANTED ME TO INTRODUCE YOU TO THE BRIGADE AND YOU JUST JOINED! YOU HAVEN'T DONE YOUR TIME AND I'LL BE DAMNED IF YOU TAKE THE EASY WAY OUT!"

The section of hallway next to Kyon exploded. He ducked out of the way of few slabs of rock.

"Let's go!" Kyon pleaded. "I'm not leaving until you come with me!"

Asakura's face slowly formed a smile as she took a step forward.

At that moment, the school building was hit.

The ground collapsed beneath Asakura's feet, and her smile disappeared. Kyon lunged for her, despite the fact that it was impossible to reach her on time. He could only watch as she slipped away out of sight, her smile replaced with a look of regret and sorrow.

Kyon's scream was muffled by the falling debris as he sank to the ground, unable to stand, unable to even think. He looked up to the broken windows, and saw another attack heading for him.

He had not the strength to rise and run, and he would not have even if he had. The only thing on his mind was what had just happeedn to Asakura. The attack was enough to level the entire hallway. It was seemingly over for him.

A flash of red intercepted the attack head on. Koizumi blocked it, taking a direct hit for the building. He was blown backwards, through the window, and stopping once he was smashed into the wall next to Kyon.

"No! Koizumi!"

"Do not worry about me… my work is done." Koizumi said, managing a weak smile.

Blue's final attack was approaching the two of them, the biggest one of all. It was a brilliant ball of spiking white light. Kyon was slumped against the wall next to Koizumi. He couldn't take his eyes off of the huge shining sphere getting closer and closer.


	9. Sunday Part 3

Just as the ball of light was about to come into contact with the building, it stopped.

"Your individual programs were still too weak, the spatial lockdown and data blockade in lateral sectors were still too weak, I detected you from the moment you assumed a form of re-existence, intrusion was granted." A soft but commanding voice echoed and shook the very sky and ground.

The ball of light dimmed into a black mass and imploded into nothing.

"You are going to interfere once more? I have the advantage in this space." Blue's voice thundered in reply with equivalent omnipotence.

A dimensional chasm shattered open and someone leaped out of it in front of Kyon and Koizumi. Kyon couldn't believe what he was seeing. He was finally saved.

"Nagato!" Kyon yelled. "Can you get us out of here?"

"The dimensional rift will only transport one person into the space and out of the space." Nagato replied. "I have entered, and I do not intend to leave until Blue is defeated."

Blue took this change to attack while Nagato was speaking. Nagato simply waved her hand and a large barrier separated the two.

"Help Koizumi Itsuki into the portal, it will close shortly." She said.

Kyon looked at Koizumi who was still slumped against the wall, barely conscious. It was clear Koizumi had to get out of here soon, but part of him didn't understand. He was so sure that Nagato was going to tell him to escape first. Wasn't he more of a liability here, considering he was just a normal human?

It didn't matter, he agreed with Nagato's orders. Kyon hoisted Koizumi onto his shoulder and pulled him up to the rift.

"Asakura Ryoko is still alive." Nagato said, looking towards the collapsed hallway before back at Blue applying tremendous pressure on the barrier.

"How do you know that?" Kyon asked, still supporting Koizumi.

"Save her. Run as far as you can from here." Nagato said, beginning to glow a light purple. "Now."

The final battle was about to begin. If Nagato couldn't beat Blue, nobody could. And from the first battle, Kyon realised that if he didn't get out of here as soon as possible, he was going to be blown into dust by any rogue attacks were sent in his direction.

Blue appeared to be getting stronger by the second. He doubted if Nagato would be able to hold her off. Regardless, he shoved Koizumi into the rift which closed after him, taking a last look outside where Nagato's barrier was beginning to fail.

"Release spatial limiters." Nagato said.

Kyon was blinded by a flash of light from Nagato. When he was able to look again her appearance had changed. Her hair was now waist length and emitting a purple glow similar to Blue's own glow.

"Blue, judged to be hostile, proceeding with termination." Nagato said. Her voice was like a chorus of a hundred of her original voices.

The moment the barrier was broken Nagato took off immediately. Kyon was sent rolling backwards from the force of her take off.

The ground shook, and the remaining windows in the hallway shattered. The entire space turned from moonlight gray into a light blue from Nagato and Blue's battle. The skies roared with thunder as the earth trembled beneath it. Balls of energy and bolts of lightning flew from the sky in every direction.

One bolt came down, going straight through the wall and coming perilously close to Kyon. Realising that it was only a matter of time before he was hit, Kyon climbed to his feet and ran.

He sped down the side of the hallway that was still intact, jumping over the wreckage that had been torn out of the wall or was falling from the ceiling. He leapt down the broken staircase and soon was directly beneath where he'd been sitting previously. Before him was the remains of the upstairs floor, and at the peak of the rubble lay Asakura- and she was still breathing.

"Asakura!" Kyon climbed the rubble, lifting her up in his arms.

She groaned as she awoke. "Kyon?" She asked, opening her eyes. "W-What happened?"

There were more explosions around the building. Evidently, Blue was still trying to kill them and was still making sure to aim the majority of her attacks in his direction.

"We're running far away from here." Kyon said, helping her to her feet.

"I don't think I can run." Asakura smiled weakly; Kyon amazed that she was so calm in this scenario. "My ankle hurts; I think I sprained it when I fell. Go on without me, Kyon. I'll be fine."

"Don't say that! You're coming with me, here, I'll help." Kyon said, putting his arm around her.

They limped on, Kyon going as fast as he could. Their timing couldn't have been any better; they were only a few metres away from where they'd started when the pile of rubble was destroyed by a bolt of lightning.

"We'll have to move faster!" Kyon yelled over the thunder. He crouched down in front of Asakura. "Get on!"

Asakura looked down in disbelief as if trying to decide if this was real or not. She timidly mounted Kyon, allowing him to carry her on his back.

Kyon expected worse carrying someone on his back. It wasn't as tiring as he had thought it to be. They were moving faster but to Kyon, nothing would be fast enough to ease his concern for being hit by one of their energy blasts. His heart skipped a beat whenever one of Blue's attacks missed them by inches destroying the surroundings.

He was sure that Asakura was well aware of the danger they were in, yet unlike him, she was still calm. He could hear her soft breathing over the noise and her steady heartbeat on his back.

As they made it past the school gates, the sounds of battle were dying out. The battle was seemed to get smaller and smaller along with the magnitude. There were no longer occasional tremors or bolts of lightning. It seemed that both Nagato and Blue were beginning to wear out. Had it turned into a battle of attrition? If so, he could only hope that Nagato would be able to last, despite her size.

With no real idea of where he was heading, Kyon just kept moving, intent on doing so till he was exhausted.

Coincidently, that happened to be once he was outside Asakura's apartment. He couldn't go any further, he had reached his limit. He sat Asakura down against a wall in front of the apartment, and he joined her to catch his breath. They both sat there, waiting for the Closed Space to end. Asakura was resting her head on Kyon's shoulder with closed eyes and a smile.

Kyon relaxed, having full faith that Nagato was going to be able to defeat Blue once more. He thought about the things he would be doing the next day in the Sports Meet. He imagined the SOS Brigade celebrating their victory.

Oh, and Asakura would also be joining the party. He'd almost forgotten she was a member as well. Kyon looked over to her, just as she started shaking.

"What is it?"

"I-I feel them again." She shuddered in fear, holding herself as if she had just been doused in ice cold water.

"Them?" But Kyon already knew what it was. It was her memories. Which could only mean-

Kyon looked up from Asakura to see a limping dark figure.

It was Blue, and she was clearly damaged severely. Where was Nagato? Had she been defeated?

Kyon forced himself to calm down. He knew what to do. He reached into his pocket for his needle gun. There was one deciding shot left, the only thing that can save them now.

"Stay away!" Kyon yelled, trying to sound as threatening as he could. Carrying Asakura all the way here took more energy than he had ever expected.

He fumbled out the needle gun and pointed it at Blue with a shaking hand. In truth, he wanted Blue to come closer. He wanted a better shot; he wanted to be sure that he wouldn't miss this time.

Asakura's pain, her suffering, he intended to end it here.

Despite his warning, Blue continued to advance as if she had not heard him. Asakura covered her eyes, breathing heavily, resisting with everything she had not to fall for Blue's bait again.

Blue simply giggled. "Nagato Yuki is on the brink of termination." Her voice was breaking up in static. "I must synchronize with Asakura Ryoko in order to be stronger. Now come to me."

Asakura tried to stand on her own, but Kyon had no intention of letting Blue synchronize with Asakura.

"I'm warning you!" he said as loudly as his overworked lungs would allow him. "Asakura, sit down! What are you doing? What about your ankle!"

"Do you know how Yuki knew that she was alive?" Blue asked, amused at Kyon's attempt to fend her off.

Kyon tried to ignore her. This was just another mind game. Deception was all Blue had at this point. She was hurting and tormenting Asakura with her mind games again. He couldn't let it continue. Blue was close enough now, and there was no way that she was capable of dodging this time.

"Let me tell you a secret human." Blue continued, eyeing the needle gun. "If I die, she dies."

Kyon's finger had just applied three quarters of the pressure needed to shoot. At this revelation he dropped the gun hopelessly. Shocked at what he had almost done. He couldn't do it. Not for what it would cost him.

Blue smiled triumphantly. "Now come, Asakura. If you join me, you shall have you memories back once again. I have them here. Don't you want to find out who you really are? What you were and what you are going to be?"

Asakura mustered up the strength to get on her feet, even limp in Blue's direction. She winced in pain as she drew closer and closer to Blue. Blue held her hand out eagerly to synchronize with Asakura.

This made no sense. It was mind control at this point. Was Asakura really going to sacrifice Kyon and Nagato for her memories? It was no use. He couldn't pick up the needle gun again. He couldn't stop Asakura from synchronizing.

He couldn't watch as Asakura was just moments away from being absorbed by Blue. He shut his eyes and turned away, waiting for it all to end.

A loud crack echoed through the streets. Kyon's eyes snapped open. That couldn't have been the sound of Asakura being absorbed. He turned back just in time to see Blue collapse.

Asakura had just slapped her senseless.

Kyon stared. Were his eyes playing tricks on him? Was it the other way around? No, Asakura was clearly the one who had delivered that powerful blow to the other.

Asakura limped back to Kyon's side and sat next to him once more, smiling softly. "Sorry if I scared you. I just couldn't stand her anymore."

"You really made me believe that you were going to give into her again." Kyon sighed in relief.

"I almost did, but I realized there were things more important than just my memories."

Kyon didn't have anything to say. Then he spotted another person approaching them from far away. It was Nagato. Like Blue, she hadn't survived the battle unscathed. She was no longer glowing and she had her hair had returned to its original length. Kyon lifted himself to his feet and went up to help her.

"I am alright." Nagato said. "You have disabled Blue."

"Asakura did. What are you going to do with her?" Kyon asked.

"She will recover soon and become a threat once more." Nagato replied. "I cannot regenerate as fast as she can. It is best to terminate her while she is immobile."

"I still have one left in my needle gun." Kyon unwillingly admitted.

"Please, do not force yourself." Nagato said. "It would be more efficient if I took care of her."

"Can you?" Kyon asked. "You don't look so good."

"Do not worry. I have already planted a deletion program." Nagato said.

"Since when?"

"From when she first came into existence." Nagato replied.

"You could have prevented this. Why didn't you?"

"The same reasons as you," Nagato said, lowering her head. "I will begin now."

"What about Asakura?" Kyon asked. But he already knew what was going to come.

"Last words are possible. You have a few minutes."

Nagato passed Kyon and kneeled next to the unconscious Blue, and he went over to Asakura sitting on the bench. She knew what was to happen, yet it seemed as if she hadn't a care in the world.

"Hey-" Kyon started, having too much on his mind to decide on just one thing.

"I know I don't have too long." Asakura said. "But thanks for trying."

"I'm so sorry there couldn't be another way."

"Don't be, I'm fine with it." Asakura said. "I have my memories back. I can rest in peace."

"What? How?" Kyon asked.

"It all came back to me the moment I touched her."

"I wish you could've made some more with us."

"You've shown me so much already. I have no regrets…" Asakura trailed off, as Kyon realised- she had begun to disappear, just like the time Nagato first fought her.

Asakura's feet disintegrated into specks of white light. The same was happening to Blue in Nagato's direction. Soon, Asakura's legs were gone up to her knees.

"Ah, that feels a whole lot better." Asakura said, laughing it off. "At least my sprained ankle is gone."

Nagato never took one glance in their direction. Kyon could only imagine what things she had to say.

Asakura began to cry. Kyon bit his lip trying to keep himself from doing the same.

"I'd thought when I had my memories again," Asakura said. "I'd be able to talk to you about them. Unfortunately it…it doesn't look like I'll be able to do that now, does it?"

Asakura had now completely disappeared from beneath the waist. She took Kyon's fist, opening it and holding his hand tightly.

"You're a wonderful person Kyon. You always went out of your way to help someone like me. Brave, chivalrous, kind…"

Kyon was left gripping the air as Asakura's hands disappeared.

"Tell everyone in the Brigade I had fun. Good luck at the Sports Meet. Thanks to you and Suzumiya, I was able to collect so irreplaceable data."

She was gone up to the shoulders. At this rate there was only a few seconds remaining.

"It's better to regret doing something rather than regret doing nothing at all, right?"

Kyon couldn't see Asakura's lips anymore, but he was definitely sure that she was smiling till the end.

He didn't move, even after he watched the specks of light drift off into the black sky and disappear. He remained looking up at the sky till Nagato walked up to him and put her hand on his shoulder.

"The connection has reopened." Nagato said. "I shall send you back."

Kyon dabbed his eyes with his sleeve. When he'd finished, he found himself back in the real world.

Koizumi's colleagues were there ready to meet him. There was an ambulance prepared by the organization. He was taken to a private clinic and treated for minor cuts and bruises next to an injured but smiling Koizumi.

The Closed Space however, was supposed to collapse soon after Blue was terminated. Yet, it did not fade as it was supposed to. Nagato remained standing where she was when she had sent Kyon back. Her mouth uttered a few words, words that did not sound throughout the space, words that were not from this world. Specks of light gathered to her and the space finally faded.


	10. Monday Epilogue

Monday, the day of the Sports Meet. After viewing some of the other events, Kyon steadily began to lose his confidence. As he took shade from the sunlight, he remembered the reason why he had to win first place. To him, saving the world was only second to being able to buy an air conditioner for the Brigade Clubroom with the money.

With the events of last night, the three of the four reliable runners in the SOS Brigade were fatigued beyond hopes.

Koizumi looked fine with his smile. Haruhi thought nothing of him and believed that he was in good shape. The truth was that he was heavily bandaged under his T-shirt from last night's battle with Blue.

Nagato was also not in her best shape. She too had received quite a battering from Blue. Kyon remembered the way she had been limping when she was approaching him in the space. He'd hoped that she would be able to heal herself completely overnight. He could only say so much for the Brigade's trump card.

Kyon's body had taken the most damage. He was tired physically and exhausted mentally. He tried some practice jogging to see how much he could take, but it was no good; he was out of breath after a minute. He had biked, leaped, sprinted, and virtually completed a marathon around the neighborhood in the Closed Space, or at least his body felt that way. He could only hope that his length of the track would be short enough to make it possible for him to reach the next runner before his breath gave out.

"You're running last Kyon." Haruhi said to Kyon as they gathered in the Clubroom.

Of course, what luck. Not only was the last runner supposed to be the best runner, but he would be the most penalized if the team lost. What was the point? It would have been better for the world if he had let Blue stab him then and there in the closed space.

After changing, the Brigade left for the track. Of course, this was the biggest event of the Sports Meet. Basically every club in the school related to sports participated. There were no other events scheduled at the same time. Seemingly every student in the school was gathered around the track field in addition to the parents and other nonstudent visitors.

"Alright everyone, let's show this entire crowd what we're made of!" Haruhi shouted as the runners got to their places.

"Good luck, Kyon. We have to win this one." Koizumi said.

"Good luck to you too." Kyon sighed.

"I mean it. We have to win this one." Koizumi smiled.

"I know…"

"Suzumiya may destroy the world depending on the outcome of this race, Kyon." Koizumi continued casually. "But no pressure."

Feeling slightly sick, Kyon walked in the opposite direction to the starting line for the last runners.

"Oh god…"

Okabe prepared the starting signal.

"Stop damn it!" Kyon hammered his thighs with his fist to stop his legs from shaking.

"Three, two ,one…" Okabe counted.

The starting signal went off with a bang.

The first runner from the SOS Brigade was Koizumi. It looks like had a good night's rest since last night's event. Still, there was a slight limp to his running. Kyon could tell from a distance that he was suppressing his wincing under his smile. He made good time, even keeping up with most of the other runners. Kyon's eye twitched when he saw Arakawa and Mori in the crowd cheering. As touching as it was to realize that Koizumi had family to cheer him on in the Sports Meet there was one thing that bothered him. Impassive was an understatement for their expressions. Did they not know how to enjoy these events? At least smile…

Koizumi passed the baton to Asahina who began run with everything she had with a roaring cheer and applause. Kyon cursed under his breath for being the last runner. He wasn't able see any of the service from where he was. So much for his moral support, but there was still hope. Taniguchi was videotaping from the front of the crowd with a very expensive camera. It would suck so hard if the world ended with his fail running. No! He was going to win! He was going to ask Taniguchi later if he could see the tape!

The SOS Brigade was in seventh place out of eight runners. This was bad. Kyon looked over at Haruhi who was tapping her foot ominously. She gave the feeling of a drag racing vehicle on standby- and then she began to smirk when Asahina neared Nagato.

Asahina passed the baton with two hands and what seemed like a clumsy bow. Kyon knew that Nagato was doing everything in her ability to win the race. If it wasn't for some magnetic ability she had applied to her hand, the baton would have rolled away into the crowd, dooming the race and the world. Magically the baton snapped into Nagato's grip as she rocketed into her stretch of track.

Nagato was doing excellent! Kyon pumped his fist as Nagato caught up to the ahead runners They were in fourth place, third, second, then third… then forth… back to fifth… what? Hope was gone faster than Kyon's allowance on a Saturday mystery hunt. Nagato was slowing down, was she getting tired? She slowed down into the speed of an average runner. Luckily she was right in front of Haruhi before she came to a complete stop.

With an explosive start Haruhi blasted across the strip of track knocking down the runners beside her with the sheer force of her take off, creating a vapour halo with her forehead shining in the sunlight. A chain reaction occurred as the fallen runners tripped up the runners next to them and so on. Everyone was on the ground as Haruhi left them in her dust clouds and pity.

There were just two people left in the race. It was Haruhi and one of the runners from the track team. They were equally matched. Kyon was too mesmerized at the beauty of her take off that he did realize that she was headed straight at him at full speed and that the person running beside him was the Captain of the track team.

The baton touch on both sides was almost simultaneous, but the Captain had the head start. Haruhi's running was outstanding, but her baton passing was horrible. It made it extremely hard to receive for Kyon when she was brandishing it around like a lunatic waving around a knife. He almost dropped it before hauling it out of there.

Kyon's mind was white. As much pain as he was in, he found himself running faster than he had ever had before. He was even catching up to the track team Captain. He focused solely on pushing his limits. They were nose to nose.

"Do not lose Kyon! He heard Koizumi cheer as the finish line came into sight.

"Almost there! Just a little!" Asahina said right beside him.

Kyon was sure he heard Nagato mouth something similar. Something he couldn't hear.

"RUN FOR YOUR LIFE KYON!" Haruhi screamed as Kyon began falling behind the Captain.

Haruhi's words stuck in Kyon's head. He made a burst of speed and catching up to the Track Team Captain, they were now running side by side. Kyon's legs began to tire. He had reached his limit. No matter how much he pushed, it was just impossible. His body wouldn't follow. He was going to black out in exhaustion. His mind was going blank.

And then he found himself in a completely white space. It was bright and completely empty. He slowed down, looking around. Was it another Closed Space? Now of all times? No, this was no closed space. This place was too warm. It wasn't hollow and depressing like he knew Closed Space was. He stopped completely, sat down on the floor of the strange space to catch his breath as he wondered where he was. At first he thought that he had finally passed out from exhaustion and was now in a dream, or some new world Haruhi made for failing the race. But somehow, he knew that wasn't the case. He could feel that he was still running, somewhere far away.

Then he felt someone sit down behind and lean against him back to back. He didn't look over his shoulder to check who she was. He knew immediately, he knew this feeling, this weight, this presence, the scent, and most importantly, her voice.

"Amazing Kyon, I didn't know you could run like that."

"Well, it isn't enough. I can't keep going." Kyon sighed.

"Are you giving up?"

"I don't have a choice do I?" he chuckled. "But… I can't do it. My body's too heavy. It won't go any faster."

"Don't let me hold you down."

"You? Never." Kyon replied.

The two stayed silent for a moment. Just long enough for Kyon to recover.

"Are you still feeling heavy?" she asked as she stood up.

"No. Not anymore." Kyon said, taking a deep breath and getting up as well. The two were still back to back.

"No regrets?"

"None." Kyon smiled. "I finally get to say farewell."

"I don't think so."

Asakura grabbed Kyon's hand. Then steadily his surroundings began to take color and accelerate.

"Is this a dream?" Kyon asked Asakura.

"It's all in your head."

"Oh." Kyon said disappointed.

"But why should that mean that it isn't real?" Asakura smiled.

Kyon noticed that his legs were still in running motion. The colors became a blur and he saw that he had returned to the race. Something was different, he wasn't running by himself. His lone arm was pulling him forward, with great velocity. The Track Team captain fell behind him astonished at his sudden burst of speed. The finish line was right in front of him. His lungs were about to burst, it hurt to breathe. But this… this was more thrilling than anything he had experienced in his life.

"Fly!" Asakura laughed. The cheers from the crowd were numb in his ears, only her voice was clear. Kyon felt his arm make a final jerk towards the finish line tape. He felt the light pressure on his stomach, the snapping feeling of the tape breaking on his front.

"First place for the Brigade!" Haruhi laughed as she handed out cold drinks to all the club members who had just returned from the field. "Cheers to everyone!"

As the Brigade sat celebrating the postponement of the apocalypse (All but Haruhi), Kyon was feeling quite happy with himself. He had never thought one in his life that he'd feel this good after a race Haruhi had put him through hell for.

He looked towards Nagato who gave him a nod. Something told him she never had to run fast to be the Brigade's Trump card.

* * *

And this week ended with the best ending I could have possibly hoped for. Haruhi told all of us that she was planning to use the prize money for an air conditioner for the clubroom at the members' requests. At the end of the Sports Meet the principal announced that the clubrooms in our building were to be fitted with air conditioners. With that condemning news Haruhi decided to invest the money into our next movie for the upcoming School Festival.

Asakura? If you're wondering about what happened to Asakura it's not much of a surprise to know that Nagato once again exercised her brilliant ability to manipulate data, made it so that Asakura returned to Canada at the last moment Sunday night, as well as stopping the endless phone calls and offers for scholarships at various sports related schools and colleges.

Haruhi on the other hand wasn't so quiet about the whole transfer. For the next week we investigated for the missing SOS Brigade member. Only to be turned down by the landlords and neighbours who claim they never knew she came back to begin with. The room she had stayed in was empty and looks as if no one had set foot in it for a long time. Like I expect how it happened last time, there was no address or any contact numbers.

Even so the funny thing is that everything that was left behind stayed in a way that made me believe Asakura would just burst into that dull grey clubroom that stunk of Othello and Haruhi's madness, with that excited glow in her eyes and repaint the whole scene in a brighter hue any moment. The blue bunny suit she had worn was hung in the assortment of costumes in the corner. The whole Sports Meet went exactly as planned by Asakura. I can remember the taste of her cooking, the huge gap in my allowance that had been made to buy her a sundae. I remember the look on Haruhi's face when she wanted to join.

She might as well been out with a cold and I wouldn't be surprised if she came to class the next day smiling like she usually does. Everything and everyone was waiting for her to once again make a return and make everything a bit happier again. Then again, one could only hope.

Will she be back? Well, to tell you the truth, I really don't know. Then again, Haruhi can destroy the world on a whim, Nagato is an alien, Asahina is a time traveler, and Koizumi is an esper fairy. Was it really that much of a long shot? No matter how long, I'll never think otherwise.

* * *

Kyon and Haruhi were walking together in the park on one of their weekend mystery hunts. It had been a long time since Kyon had a reason to go through this part of town. The dried leaves littered the path the two were walking through. Eventually they stopped by in front of a brand new drink vending machine Kyon had never seen before.

To his dislike, the machine had replaced the one he and Asakura were resting nearby in the park. It bothered him to find out that a part of Asakura's proof of existence had been erased.

Kyon slipped some coins into the slot. As reluctant as he was to be a patron of the offending drink machine, he was pretty thirsty. He decided to go for an energy drink, the very same he had bought Asakura. He pressed the button and moments later a clanking sound let him knew that the drink was in the compartment.

"What do you know?" Kyon chuckled.

"Did you find a mystery?" Haruhi asked curiously.

"It gave me two." Kyon proudly shook the free can in front of Haruhi.

"What? Two drinks?" Haruhi certainly didn't want to be outdone by Kyon. "This machine is obviously busted; I bet I can do it too."

Haruhi inserted her money and pressed the same drink. With a small clunk, the single can fell into the compartment.

"What gives?" Haruhi yelled. She held out her hand expecting some sympathy.

"What?" Kyon asked.

"Well give me one!" Haruhi said.

"Why? Drink your own!"

"No! Then it will be meaningless! You have to give me that drink!" Haruhi argued. "This is destiny!"

Kyon pocketed his free drink and popped open his first one. He walked ahead leaving Haruhi with a single lonely can. One could tell that she obviously wanted the one cradled in Kyon's pocket. She chased after Kyon and she didn't stop insisting that the drink was rightfully hers.

"For your information, I'm planning to save this for later." Kyon frowned.

"Fine! You can stick that can up your nose for all I care!" Haruhi pouted and walked ahead.

Kyon sighed and watched her speed away. He noticed that he was in front of the bench that he and Haruhi had stopped to rest for their first evening session. It was here that he saw that streak of blue hair appear. He took the free drink out of his pocket and with a hopeful smile placed it on the bench while nobody was looking.

**END**

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**Credits**

Author/Writer: LordPlagus777

Beta Reader/Editor: LightningHunter

Moral Support: HaruhiAnon, DaemonOmega

Special Thanks To: Tunafishisgood and everyone at the "Worlds of Suzumiya Haruhi" Site (wohs-project dot org) and forums.

**Author's Comments - "LordPlagus777"**

From the time I finished my first ever fan fiction and the time I finished this rewrite of it, it has only been a little over a year. It was this first idea and my love for the characters that sparked the beginnings of what I was going to do regularly for many months to come.

As with every story I write, I wish for the reader to feel as if his time was not wasted if not fully satisfied with my stories. I hope that these words reach many people. Please wish my luck as I write more stories in the future.

**Beta Reader's Commentary – "LightningHunter"**

When LordPlagus777 first sent me a message requesting I beta read his upcoming Haruhi Suzumiya fiction back in late January '10, my immediate response was "Huh, I completely forgot my beta profile was still active. Need to update some of that stuff. Anyway, yeah, sure, sounds like fun." Well, over the few months I've been working on this (although admittedly it would've been shorter if I hadn't been so lazy getting back to him all the time), I daresay I've enjoyed reading the fiction and working on it. Beta work is fun because you get to read stories before other people can. Plagus had some good ideas, planned the fic through and through and so I took to the challenge like a man with something to prove and -quite heavily- edited every chapter, often overdoing it, so not everything got through.

Myself, I usually work in other fandoms, mostly Naruto, but lately I've entered the fanfiction world of the Haruhi Suzumiya series, because, well, I don't like Naruto and spend most my time ranting about it rather than actually writing for it. TMOHS is a smaller fandom but branching out, in beta-ing and in writing has been great and you'll probably see more of me in the future. Hope you enjoyed the fic.

**Closing Commentary – "LordPlagus777"**

To Our Beloved Readers: That puts an end to another project. And just to let you know, I feel pretty damn proud of myself. It's been a "blast" working with LightningHunter, or as much of a blast that is possible in the process of writing and editing fan fiction.

As I usually do, I thank the people who make all this work meaningful. The most important part of everything we write for. Yes people, we did this all for you!

So!

Thanks For Reading: LordPlagus777 and LightingHunter


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